Don't Deny It and other short Phineabella stories
by EDD17SP
Summary: A myriad of short, unrelated, untraditional Phineabella stories and songfics. *Now Showing*: "How Not to Ask Someone to Prom" - It's time for the gang's senior prom, and Isabella is going to make sure she goes with Phineas, even if she has to break the cardinal rule and ask him instead of the other way around. Part 2!
1. Don't Deny It

**Don't Deny It**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Phineas and Ferb.**

Lunch time. For seventeen year olds, it's the most important meal of the day, especially since a lot of teens skip breakfast so they can get an extra ten minutes of sleep before school. It's definitely Isabella's favorite period of the school day, but not for anything to do with food. It's much more important than that.

When schedules had been made at the beginning of the year, only herself, Baljeet, and Ginger had the same lunch period. This wouldn't have been so bad if Baljeet and Ginger weren't dating. They spent the whole first day in constant discussion. Ginger would be upset about something Baljeet did, then Baljeet would try to resolve the situation, Ginger would get really angry, then Baljeet would cry, and then Ginger would remember she was dating someone completely clueless about love, and forgive him. This happened four times…in succession.

Isabella sat across the table from them, eating silently as they bickered and feeling like they didn't remember that she was there.

On the second day of school, Phineas showed up to their lunch period. He'd had a mix up with his schedule and had to have it reorganized, placing him in lunch with her. So, the four of them sat together.

By the end of the first week, Phineas and Isabella moved to a different table to escape the constant bickering. Baljeet and Ginger didn't notice they were gone, anyway.

And so, Isabella looked forward to lunch every day. Where once she found it impossible to have some alone time with him, it was now a daily occurrence…even if they were surrounded by two hundred other kids.

One hundred and sixty-some odd days later, she found herself in limbo, both thrilled for the school year to be over, and a little sad that her daily lunch break with Phineas, and only Phineas, was over.

And apparently, there would be even one less day alone with him.

"Hey, Dinner Bell!"

Phineas and Isabella looked in the direction of the voice. Buford was pushing his way through the cafeteria toward them. He stopped at their table.

"Hey, Buford," Phineas greeted. "What's up?"

"I hate to interrupt your time with your girlfriend, but I need your help studying for my Geometry final. I'll have to take summer school classes if I fail it. Baljeet's helping me after school, but I have study hall this period, and I know you're the only one I know who doesn't have a class this period. Whatd'ya say? Can your help me out?"

Isabella smiling stupidly. _Ha ha. Buford called me Phineas's girlfriend. _Her smile quickly faded when Phineas answered Buford's question.

"Isabella's not my girlfriend. And you do know that Baljeet is in the lunch period, too, right?"

"Are you kidding? You can't get two words out of the guy when he's with Ginger."

"Good point. Take a seat."

"Thanks, Dude."

As Buford shuffled past Phineas to sit down next to him, Isabella sighed. She had never actually worked up the courage to ask Phineas out, and she doubted she ever would. Hearing Phineas deny that they were dating like that, though…it really broke her heart.

As Phineas was going over various terms and formulas with Buford, he happened to glance her way. "Isabella, are you alright? You look…I don't know, sick or something."

"Yeah, I guess I am feeling a little sickly…in a manner of speaking."

"Maybe you should go to the nurse."

"No, no…I'm fine."

"You sure?"

She gritted her teeth. "Positive."

* * *

Phineas and Ferb always drove Isabella to and from school since she lived right across the street. Today, however, Ferb had volunteered to help tutor students for finals after school, so Phineas drove Isabella home in his and Ferb's shared 1970 Ford Torino.

As they climbed into the car in the school parking lot, Isabella asked, "Would you mind driving me into the city before we go home? I just need to pick up my mother's dry cleaning."

"Sure. The cleaner is just down the street from that building vaguely shaped like Ferb's head."

"Thanks, Phineas. You're the best."

"I try," Phineas said as he started the engine.

It only took a few minutes to drive into the city of Danville, but they found the streets packed with cars.

"Wow. There's never this much traffic here at this time of the day," Phineas observed.

Cars lined the sidewalk up and down, too, taking up every available parking spot.

"Keep your eyes open for a parking spot," Phineas said when they were two blocks from the cleaners. "We may not be able to find any place to park closer to the dry cleaner than this."

They reached the block with the building shaped like Ferb's head. A car was pulling out just in front of said building. "There! There's a spot!" Isabella exclaimed, pointing excitedly.

"Good eye!" Phineas whipped the Torino into the parking space and expertly parallel parked.

They got out of the car and walked down the street toward the dry cleaner. They were just out of earshot when, from the top of the purple building, there was an explosion, followed by someone yelling, "CURSE YOU PERRY THE PLATYPUS!"

Phineas and Isabella walked to the cleaners, picked up Mrs. Garcia-Shapiro's dress, and walked the block back to the car. When they reached the purple building again, they noticed three men in lab coats setting up a scaffolding against the side of the building. One was only about three feet tall, one had an incredibly pointy nose and ears, and one had a crazy jagged mustache and head of dark red hair. Several cans of spray paint sat on the ground nearby.

"Hey, kid!" the short one called.

Phineas looked around. "Me?"

"Yeah, you. Could you and your girlfriend give us a hand with this scaffolding here?"

Isabella glanced at Phineas, an almost pleading look on her face. He didn't notice.

"Oh, she isn't my girlfriend." Isabella turned her eyes downcast. "But we'd be glad to help you. Right, Isabella?"

"Yeah. Sure."

"Great! We'll have this up in no time."

"Oh, thank you so much!" the one with pointy ears said.

Phineas unlocked the car so Isabella could place her mother's dry cleaning safely in the backseat, and then the two of them hurried to help the three men. In just a few minutes, the scaffolding was assembled.

"There you go! All done!" Phineas said.

"Thank you both very much," pointy ears said again. The three men each picked up a spray can and began shaking them.

"You're welcome," Phineas said. "Anytime." He looked up the side of the building. "So, what are you guys doing? Touching up the paint? Because if you are, no offense, but spray cans aren't really the best way to do it."

"Oh no, we're vandalizing it," said the guy with the mustache.

"What?"

"You see, this building belongs to Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz," shorty said. "He played a prank on us at the last meeting of L.O.V.E.M.U.F.F.I.N."

"We were all so embarrassed," mustache said.

"So now, we're getting back at him by doing graffiti on his building."

Phineas and Isabella crossed their arms and frowned. "Well, that's just wrong." Phineas said.

"Yeah, we're calling the police!" Isabella yelled.

"Oh, really?" Pointy ears said. "We can't just allow that."

The three of them, still shaking their spray cans, stepped slowly and dramatically closer to Phineas and Isabella.  
"Think now would be a good time to hastily retreat?" Isabella asked.

"Yes, yes I do."

They both jumped in the car as fast as they could. Phineas fired the engine and burned rubber as they shot back onto the road, where there seemed to be considerably less traffic now that the unnoticed machine on the roof of the purple building had exploded.

* * *

Phineas waved to Isabella across the street as he walked out to his car, which was parked on the road in front of his house. Isabella was in her front yard, planting a few flowers. She waved back.

Phineas was about to climb into the Torino, but then he closed the door and walked across the street to Isabella's house.

"Hey Isabella."

"Hey, Phineas. Whatchya doin'?"

"Well, Candace is out with Jeremy, my parents are at some antique convention, and I think Ferb is with Buford and Baljeet. I don't really feel like cooking for myself, so I decided to treat myself to a nice meal out. What are you doing?"

"Oh, just planting a few flowers. I wanted to get them in the ground now before summer starts. Don't want to miss any of the excitement in your backyard starting next week."

Phineas laughed. "Good idea. I wouldn't want you to miss anything." He took a sort of hesitant step back toward the street. "Well, I'm going out. Do you want to come with me?"

Isabella practically jumped for joy, but she managed to restrain herself. "Um, okay, sure."

"Great! It'll be just like having lunch at school, only we won't be at school and we won't be eating lunch."

Isabella laughed.

A short while later, Phineas and Isabella were seated in the Diner. Ironically, it was the one right next to the purple building they had saved from vandalism earlier. The three men in lab coats had been taken into custody.

They laughed as they watched another man in a lab coat try to order a "whole-wheat on rye" sandwich, followed by a screaming match as the waitress failed to pronounce his name correctly. The man stormed out, muttering to himself, "Why did I even bother coming back here again? I should have known this would happen."

Not long after their food was delivered to their table, they were approached by the hostess. "Excuse me sir," she said, "but could I trouble you and your girlfriend to move to that empty table over there in the corner?" She pointed to it. "A very large party just came in and we need to push a few tables together to accommodate them. This one where you're sitting is much closer."

"Sure, not a problem," Phineas said.

"Thank you both so much. I hate to trouble you."

"It's no trouble at all. We don't mind. Come on, Isabella." They both picked up their plates and drinks and moved to the table in the corner.

They resumed eating quietly, their previous conversation having slipped their mind. Then suddenly, Isabella realized something. "Hey, Phineas?"

"Hmm?" Phineas replied through a mouthful of chicken.

"How come you didn't tell the hostess that I'm not your girlfriend?"

Phineas swallowed and shrugged. "I don't know. Just didn't think to I guess."

They ate quietly for a few more minutes.

"Maybe you should be."

Isabella looked up from her plate. "Huh?"

"Maybe you should be my girlfriend. Everyone seems to think you are anyway." Isabella dropped her fork. It clattered on her plate. Phineas continued without noticing the look on her face. "What'd you think? You want to be?"

Under normal circumstances, Isabella would have squealed, jumped up and down and screamed out "YES!" in reply. But she was so shocked, she forgot to. "Uh…y-yeah…sure." Then quickly added. "I'd love to."

"Okay. Great!" Phineas kept eating as if nothing had happened. Isabella just stared at him in shock. "Oh, wait a sec. Does that mean this is a date?" Phineas asked.

"I-I-I, uh…I guess so."

Phineas quickly took out his wallet and looked inside. "This could be a problem."

"What?"

"I only have fifteen bucks. My meal was twelve. I don't have enough to pay for yours."

"Huh?"

"It's a date. The guy is supposed to pay, right? That's how a date works. At least, I think that's how it works."

Isabella snapped out of her shocked state and laughed. "It's okay, Phineas. I'll pay for my own dinner. You didn't know it was a date when we got here."

"Well…okay. But only if I can take you to a movie tomorrow."

"Deal."

And, recalling their earlier conversation, they finished the meal as if nothing had changed.

* * *

Phineas dropped Isabella off in front of her house. "Bye, Isabella."

"Bye, Phineas. See you tomorrow morning."

"Yup! Just four days of school left!"

Isabella closed the passenger door and watched as Phineas pulled into the driveway, parked and entered the house through the garage. She suddenly tensed up. "Wait a minute. I-…and he-…and we-!…But…" She stared at the house across the street. Her shoulders drooped. "What just happened?"

* * *

Phineas went inside and was greeted by Candace, the only other person home.

"Hey, Phineas. Where were you?"

"I went out to dinner with Isabella."

Candace frowned. She poured herself a cup of coffee. "You went to dinner with Isabella?"

"Yeah."

"How was it?" She picked up the mug off the counter.

"Fine. We had a good time. We watched some guy in a lab coat try to order a sandwich with only bread on it. It was funny."

"Well, I'm glad you had a good time."

"Yeah, we did." Phineas walked out of the kitchen toward the stairs as Candace took a sip of her coffee. Then he called back, "Oh, and just so you know, Isabella's my girlfriend now."

The coffee mug slipped between Candace's fingers and shattered on the floor. "What?"

**I don't think Phineas will ever figure out Isabella's feelings for him, but I still think they'll end up together, and it will happen just as I've written it here. More by accident then by design.**

**This is going to be a two-shot, where the second part has almost nothing to do with the first part. (Almost.)**


	2. It's Easy

It's Easy

Sometime in mid-August, Phineas, Ferb, and Isabella lay in the shade beneath the tree in the Flynn-Fletcher backyard, their daily project done and gone. Phineas and Isabella had officially been boyfriend/girlfriend for about two months now. They lay next to each other now, holding hands between them.

Ferb sat up. "I'll give you two some space." He got up and went into the house.

Isabella looked at Phineas. "That was nice of him."

"Gotta love my brother."

They lay there in silence, staring up at the clouds, each simply enjoying the warm sensation of holding the other's hand.

"It's a little bit weird, you know?" Isabella said.

Phineas turned his head to the side to face her. "What do you mean?"

"Not bad weird. Just…strange."

"You still haven't told me what the weird thing is."

"Us. Together."

"What makes you say that?"

"Well, we've been best friends since we were, what? Four? Five? We can't really say we're dating because dating implies that you don't know each other very well and you're trying to get to know each other."

"Right," Phineas agreed, looking back up at the sky again. "We really aren't 'dating.' We don't really go on dates, except to an occasional movie, and even that is just to have some time alone."

"We just skipped all that and went right to being boyfriend/girlfriend."

"And even that. Not much has changed because of it. We still hang out with the gang, we still build crazy contraptions every day, we still wonder where Perry is…speaking of which, where is Perry?"

Almost as if he had been waiting for someone to ask that simple question, the platypus walked in through the open side gate.

"Oh, there you are, Perry," they said in unison. Perry walked over and laid down on the grass between them. Isabella let go of Phineas's hand for just a minute to scratch Perry's head, and then took Phineas's hand again.

"Hardly anything has changed between us," Phineas said. "It's still just like it's always been, only now we always hold hands." Then he quickly caught himself. "Well, I guess that's not completely true. There's a lot more affection in general between us now. We kinda flirt with each other while we're doing things, whereas before we didn't."

"You know what, Phineas?"

Phineas turned to face his girlfriend again. Isabella, only pure happiness fueling her smile, said, "I think we actually have more fun together now."

Phineas grinned back. "I think so, too."

They both turned their attention back to the sky. Phineas rubbed his thumb back and forth over Isabella's knuckle, just enjoying the feel of her skin. Between them, Perry purred softly as he dozed off.

With the sun sinking low, turning the sky pink and purple against the clouds, birds chirping softly, and a sort of glowing warmth on their faces, Phineas and Isabella eventually dozed off, too.

No sooner had the pair dozed off, Baljeet burst through the gate and flopped down on his back next to Phineas. Both woke from the noise.

"Gaaaaahhhhhhhhhuuuuuuuuggggggg," Baljeet moaned.

Phineas slowly turned his head to face his friend. "Hey, Baljeet. Where were you all day? We missed you."

"This relationship with Ginger is going to destroy me!"

Isabella groggily sat up and shifted backwards to lean against the tree. Perry awoke, too. He moved over to Isabella and rolled over on his back so Isabella could scratch his belly. "Baljeet, why do you have such a hard time with Ginger?" she asked.

"Because! Somehow, everything I do is the wrong thing! I try hard to be romantic, or to at least be…boyfriendish…if that is even a word…but no matter what I do, it is just constant drama between me and her."

"Then why do you stick with her?" Phineas asked. "I mean, there's plenty of other girls out there."

"But I love Ginger. That is why I put up with her incessant craziness."

Isabella sighed. "I honestly don't know how to help you, Baljeet. Ginger's ways have always been a mystery to me, and I _am _a girl. You're just going to have to figure it out for yourself."

Baljeet sighed and stood up. "I guess you are right." He walked toward the gate. "How do you two make it look so easy?"

Phineas and Isabella shared a glance, both with a questioning look on their faces.

After Baljeet had left, Phineas and Isabella moved back away from the tree trunk enough to lie back flat again. "What do you suppose Baljeet meant?" Phineas asked.

Isabella thought for a moment. "I think he just means that we get along really well."

Now it was Phineas's turn to think hard. "Why do you think we get along and Baljeet and Ginger don't? Come to think of it, I can recall a lot of guys at school complaining about the difficulties they have with their girl friends. Why do we get along so well and others don't?"

Once again, Isabella didn't answer right away. "I think there's a lot of reasons. I mean, first, obviously, we've been best friends for as long as we can remember. We've always gotten along well. But I think some people just don't understand what love, or even, just what a romantic relationship is supposed to be. I mean, I always thought I had to be swept off my feet. Turns out, you flat out asking me to be your girlfriend like it was nothing and just being _you _was enough. It doesn't have to be constant drama. It doesn't have to be exactly a certain way. I think what makes our relationship work is that I don't really care how we spend our time together as long as we are _together_. I'm happy when you and I are just having fun together."

Phineas turned his head to face Isabella again, the grass tickling his cheek. "People always seem to think that relationships have to be a certain way. That's why people make up things like 'date night.' It's all a process to them."

"Right."

"Who cares about process? I think if you really want to see if a relationship works, you have to just let it flow on it's own, instead of trying to force it."

Isabella suddenly giggled. "When did you become such an expert?"  
Phineas shrugged. "I guess when I starting thinking about it. I never really thought about it before we started going out- I mean, since you became my girlfriend."

Isabella laughed.

They stared at the clouds a while longer. Finally, Isabella spoke up again. "You want to know why I think we work?"

"Do tell."

"Because we're best friends. Shouldn't the one you love most be your best friend?"

Phineas sat up. "Yes."

Isabella sat up too. "We were already best friends. Now, we're more than that. I think that's why we work."

Phineas smiled. "Yeah. You're right."

"That's why it's easy."

Phineas leaned forward toward Isabella. Isabella leaned toward him. "Isabella?" Phineas whispered.

"Yes, Phineas?"

"Loving you is fun."

And then their lips met. It was their fist kiss. They felt almost frozen in time, with only each other, their lips pressed together tightly.

When they finally broke apart, both were smiling so broadly, they could barely move their lips in speech.

Finally, Isabella managed to get words out. "Loving you is fun, too, Phineas."

They leaned forward again, resting against each other's forehead, staring into each other's eyes.

"And this is only the beginning," Phineas said.

And then they kissed again.

**This chapter was inspired by the song ****_Loving You is Fun_**** by Easton Corbin. The title actually came from my Physics teacher. Every time he would explain a new concept to us, he would punctuate his explanation with "It's easy," even though it was definitely not easy. The "It's easy" line has sort of become a running gag among me and my friends.**


	3. Jump

Jump

**I had a few requests to do more of this, so I managed to pull another story out of my imagination. (You do not want to go into my imagination. You'll get lost and see things that will scar you for life. I'm lucky I found this story and made it out alive.)**

**First of all, this story is in no way connected to the two stories preceding this one. It does, however, take place in the same time frame, meaning all the kids are teens and all the teens are young adults, but Candace and her friends don't actually appear in this one. Also, Phineas still has his Ford Torino.**

**Secondly, this is the product of having a song stuck in your head all day and trying to imagine it somehow being incorporated into Phineas and Ferb while at the same time not getting the "Eliminator" people all ticked off. That means, only using a little piece of the song. I think I used just enough.**

"I had a great time today, Phineas," Isabella said sweetly.

"Me too. I'm glad you were here."

"What are we, chopped liver?" Buford asked. Baljeet elbowed him.

Phineas shot Buford an annoyed look, then turned back to Isabella. "I'll walk you out."

They walked out the gate and around to the end of the driveway. "Hey, Isabella?" Phineas suddenly sounded nervous. He looked down at his shoes.

"Yes, Phineas?"

"Um…there's something that I've been wanting to tell you…"

"Yes?" Isabella smiled hopefully.

"I, uh…"

The two of them were unaware that Buford and Baljeet were walking down the driveway toward them. Buford had a small boom box, and he pressed play as they approached. Music began to blast from the speakers, interrupting Phineas.

_Time after time we walk pass the window_

_And never see the ashes on the ground_

_Night after night watching the sky move_

_But never feel the earth spinning 'round_

Phineas spun around, and yelled, "Buford, you're driving me crazy! Enough Van Halen, already!"

"But it's Van Halen! It's classic!"

"Buford," Baljeet said, reaching over and pressing the pause button, "you have been playing that CD on a loop since you got here this morning! We are sick of it!"

"It's _The Best of Both Worlds_. You can't find a better album than this!"

Phineas gritted his teeth and glared at Buford, but Isabella touched his arm, and he remembered she was standing there. "What were you going to tell me, Phineas?" she asked.

"Oh, uh…It's not important." He unconsciously scratched behind his ear. Isabella knew he was lying, but she didn't press him further.

"Oh. Okay. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah, see you tomorrow."

Phineas watched Isabella cross the street. Behind him, Buford skipped to the next track and hit play again. The opening to _Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love_ began, and before it could even reach the beginning of the lyrics, Phineas whipped around again.

"Seriously, Buford! Enough with the Van Halen!"

Buford refused to turn the music off this time. Phineas tried to tune it out as he focused on Isabella. Baljeet, meanwhile, tried to discreetly reach over and turn off the boom box again, but Buford held it out of his reach. Baljeet jumped up, trying to reach the little radio, and Buford shifted, keeping it just out of reach, singing loudly with the music.

"'You know you're semi-good lookin' and on the streets again-'"

"Shut it off, Buford!" Baljeet yelled. Buford just shifted his position again.

"'Oh yeah, you think you're really cookin' baby-'"

Phineas suddenly tore his gaze away from Isabella as she entered her house across the street and whipped around. He walked briskly toward his two friends, who did not notice him approaching as they wrestled for the boom box. Phineas managed to switch off the radio.

"Hey!"

Phineas didn't pay any attention to Buford's protest. He grabbed both of them by the shirt collar and dragged them into the backyard, closing the gate behind them. Ferb was under the tree, already reading a book. He looked up at the commotion.

"What has gotten into you?" Baljeet asked angrily. "This is not anything like you, Phineas."

Phineas ignored him. Ferb walked across the yard to join the others. As he did, Perry fell out of the sky into his arms. "Oh, there you are, Perry."

"Ngrgrgrgrgrgrg."

When Ferb had caught up, Phineas took a deep breath. "Guys, I need your help. How do you tell a girl you like her?"

Ferb, Baljeet, and Buford glanced at each other.

"Is that what you were just doing out in the driveway?" Baljeet asked.

"No!" Phineas yelled defensively. Then he sighed. "Yes."

"So, you like Isabella," Buford said, folding his arms. "I suspected as much." He pressed play on his boom box again. Ferb reached around Buford's back while balancing Perry on one arm and shut it off again.

"Why are you asking us?" Baljeet questioned. "I was not exactly a 'cool cat' when I asked Ginger out."

"I don't want to ask her out!" Phineas exclaimed. "I just want to tell her I like her. You know, as more than a friend."

"Can't help ya." Buford skipped a few tracks and hit play again. Ferb reached around to shut off the music again, and Buford moved the boom box to his other side, having anticipated Ferb's move. Now within reach, Perry reached down from Ferb's other arm and hit "pause" with his bill. Buford shot the platypus a dirty look.

Phineas looked at his step brother. "Ferb? Got any words of wisdom for me?"

"Just tell her outright."

"I can't do that! What if she doesn't like me back?"

"I do not think you should worry about that too much," Baljeet put in.

"I don't want to lose her as a friend, though."

"Dude, you are between a rock and a hard place," Buford said, pressing skip and then play again.

"Buford, please," Phineas started to say. "Aw, who cares? Play it." He sank to the ground and leaned his head in his hands. The others sat down with him.

"When she comes over tomorrow, just tell her how you feel," Baljeet offered. "Sometimes, it is better to ask forgiveness than permission. Oh, wait. That is not the expression I was looking for."

Phineas sighed and let the sounds of Van Halen override his attempts to filter out the music. The synthesizer of this particular song stood out among the others on the album.

Suddenly, his head shot up. "Buford, play that part again."

"Uh…okay." Buford was surprised, but he held "rewind" for a few seconds and then let the song play. Phineas listened with rapt attention.

_Can't you see me standin' here? I got my back against the record machine_

_I ain't the worst that you've seen…Can't you see what I mean?_

_ Might as well jump_

_JUMP!_

_Might as well jump_

Phineas suddenly stood up. "I'll be right back," he announced. With a rather determined look on his face and a bit of confidence in his stride, he pushed his way out the gate.

"Where's he going?" Buford asked, looking rather confused.

Ferb watched his brother leave, then set down Perry and stood up. "Based on what he just asked you play, I think he's going to jump."

Buford looked scared. He sprang up. "I'll go get the parachute."

"Not that kind of jump, Buford," Baljeet said, elbowing the larger boy again. Buford paused the music again and the three of them walked out the gate. They crept around the side of the garage and ran at a crouch across the front yard. They hid behind Phineas's Ford Torino, which was parked on the curb, and watched Phineas.

Phineas had already crossed the street and was now stepping onto the Garcia-Shapiros' front porch. He rang the doorbell.

A few seconds later, Isabella answered the door. They couldn't hear what she said when she greeted Phineas, but it didn't really matter. Phineas put his arm around her back and pulled her to him, right into his puckered lips. They stood there, locked in a kiss, for several seconds.

"Oh, that kind of jump," Buford said. He, Ferb, and Baljeet all smiled broadly. "I'm proud of him." He turned the volume knob on the boom box up to full, set the radio on the roof of the Torino, and hit play.

_Might as well jump!_

_JUMP!_

_Go ahead and jump!_

_Get it in, Jump!_

_JUMP!_

Phineas released Isabella at the sound of the music. She had a huge smile on her face, and she was blushing.

"I jumped," Phineas said to her sort of blankly, grinning nervously.

Isabella laughed and pulled him back into her lips.

_Go ahead and jump!_

Buford, Baljeet, and Ferb jumped up and pumped their fists in the air, yelling:

"JUMP!" in time with the music.

Phineas backed off Isabella again and yelled the second "JUMP!"

"JUMP!" Isabella called.

And for the final "JUMP!" all five chorused together.

Phineas and Isabella kissed again. "I always liked this song," Isabella said.

"When Buford was playing it non-stop earlier, you said it was the worst song on the album."

Isabella laughed again and the two kissed once more.

**Yeah, not my best work. It was still fun to write.**


	4. Snow - Part 1

So here's the deal:

**This story has more followers than any of my other stories. Why? I have no idea. This was supposed to be a two-shot. Then I did "Jump" and suddenly, I had two more followers. I'm up to eleven at this point. So now, I feel sort of obligated to do more for this "story/stories" and I don't have any ideas for it.**

**So, I decided to come up with a scenario- Phineas and Isabella driving through the countryside in Phineas's 1970 Ford Torino- and just see what happens. Once again, this is in no way related to the previous chapters. This is going to be a surprise myself, because I'm writing this author's note before I have begun writing the story.**

**And here…we…go.**

Snow

Phineas flicked on the headlights as the cloudy gray sky turned black when the sun disappeared below the horizon. Snow had been threatening all day but had yet to break the clouds. With no other cars on the road, Phineas switched to high beams. The road was incredibly dark, as a thick canopy of deciduous trees still holding a few dying leaves blocked out any light from the already overcast sky.

He glanced to the passenger seat, where Isabella sat, fast asleep. He smiled, thinking how beautiful and peaceful she looked, even partially obscured in her light winter coat. She had pulled it up around her neck as far as she could to keep herself warm. He turned his attention back to the road.

Phineas looked in the rearview mirror. Perry was curled up, wrapped in a blanket on the backseat, also asleep. Phineas let out a small chuckle. He thought Perry looked rather silly, with one front paw resting on the base of his bill, almost as if covering his eyes.

Phineas reached an intersection and turned right. He yawned. It had been a very long day.

Two days ago, he had woken up to a sickly looking Perry sprawled out on his bedroom floor. He and Ferb had tried to no avail to determine what was ailing the platypus. Finally, while telling Isabella about Perry's sickness over the phone, she had suggested taking him to a little animal hospital that she had been to once several years ago on a Fireside Girl fieldtrip.

So, that morning, Phineas headed up to Badgertown with a sickly platypus on the backseat of his 1970 Ford Torino and Isabella riding shotgun to navigate for him. It was a two and a half hour ride, and both were quite exhausted by the time they arrived. The hospital took good care of Perry, running a few tests and giving him an IV with medication. Perry seemed to recover fairly quickly, but due to the potency of the IV meds, the veterinarian suggested that they wait a couple hours before beginning their long drive home to let the antibiotics cycle through Perry's system.

So, Phineas and Isabella wandered around Badgertown, looking for something to occupy their time while the air slowly grew colder. After they grabbed a bit to eat and finally returned to pick up Perry, the temperature had dropped from the low fifties to near freezing, and falling fast.

Now, they were finally heading home in the, thankfully, heated car. Both of them were utterly exhausted and Phineas was struggling to stay awake. Isabella had long since lost her battle with exhaustion and had dozed off. Fortunately, Phineas knew where he was, for they were only about twenty miles outside of Danville.

Phineas liked driving. While he could just as easily have built a teleporter and zapped himself and Perry to the animal hospital, he preferred to just drive. He and Ferb had restored the Torino with their dad and had shared it for a few weeks before Ferb decided he needed his own car and bought the frame of a Pontiac GTO to restore for himself, so the Torino became Phineas's.

One reason Phineas liked driving was that he found it very easy to think while behind the wheel. Usually, thoughts bounced around in his head with no rhyme or reason, but his mind seemed to clear when driving and he could focus on his thoughts very clearly. There were two things currently on Phineas's mind:

First, why is it that long car rides always make you drowsy? You're sitting down, just putting a little downward pressure on the gas and gently moving the steering wheel back and forth. So why do you always feel so tired?

His second thought actually confused him. He wasn't sure where it had come from, but now that he had brought up the topic before his mind, he was going to think about it until he came up with an answer. It was: Why do I find myself looking at Isabella all the time?

It was true. Phineas had found his eyes just sort of naturally drawn to his best friend, as if his brain just wanted to look at her. He supposed it had begun last summer.

One day, the gang took a day road-trip to Danville National Park, just to walk around and explore the vast landscape. That particular day, the temperature skyrocketed, breaking the heat record. While free climbing up a large rock, Isabella suddenly stopped and took off her shirt. Sure, she was wearing a purple bikini top underneath, but the boys were so surprised that they froze in their tracks. Baljeet ended up falling two stories, narrowly avoiding injury by splashing into Danville River directly below.

It was right there, seeing Isabella dressed in just a purple bikini top and a pair of shorts that Phineas suddenly could not take his eyes off her. It was as if someone had just flipped a switch in his brain and his eyes became magnets to Isabella.

Since that day, Phineas found himself constantly having to tear his gaze away from his best friend, regardless of how she was dressed. Even today, in long pants and a light jacket that completely covered her skin except her hands and her face, Phineas was still sneaking glances at her. And the worst part was, he couldn't figure out why. It certainly couldn't be that he was attracted to her. That was a ridiculous notion to even consider. So he didn't.

Phineas followed the road as it gently curved and then dropped abruptly. In the beam of the headlights, he noticed something. A moment later, he noticed it on his windshield, too. The sky had finally let loose, and it was just starting to flurry. He turned on the windshield wipers, low.

Five minutes and a mile later, the snow was swirling around in a harsh wind that blew in quick, hard gusts, and fell in big, wet flakes. Phineas increased the wiper speed to full, but it was still hard to see.

_Good thing we're almost home_, Phineas thought to himself. _I would not want to drive in this much longer._

He came to another intersection and looked left and right. Both directions were clear. _Of course_, Phineas thought as he drove straight through, _No one is crazy enough to be out driving in this._

The road was becoming slippery now, too, and Phineas let the car coast down fifteen miles per hour below the speed limit. Unable to see, even with the hi-beams and wipers, Phineas watched the double yellow line in the center of the road, it being the only thing close enough for him to see. It was still difficult to keep the car in the lane, and at one point Phineas drifted just a little too far to the right. The right side tires hit the rumble strip, and Phineas jerked the Torino back to the left.

The loud noise from the rumble strip and the abrupt movement of the car woke Isabella. She moaned slightly as she stretched her arms and legs as best she could in the cramped space and sat up out of her relaxed slump. "Mmmm…" She yawned. "It's finally snowing, huh?"

Phineas glanced at her for just a second. "Oh, I'm sorry, Isabella. I didn't mean to wake you."

"It's okay. We're almost home now, right? I was going to have to wake up sooner or later."

"Yeah, we're still a good twelve miles or so out. And it'll be a little longer now, I'm afraid to go any faster than this."

"Well, just take your time."

They drove on a little further, the trees still surrounding the road turning white and the road becoming more slippery as already nearly a quarter-inch of snow covered the blacktop.

Suddenly, a clanking sound came from the engine and it stalled out. Phineas's eyes went wide.

"Uh-oh," Isabella said, spotting the look on Phineas's face. "What's wrong?"

Phineas turned the car to the unpaved shoulder and braked to a stop. "We're out of gas."

Isabella looked like she wanted to laugh and scream at the same time. "How exactly is it possible that we're out of gas?"

Phineas chuckled nervously. "Uh…apparently, I was really deep in thought. To the point that I stopped watching the gas gauge."

Isabella rolled her eyes. "Well, now what do we do?"

Phineas pulled his phone out of his pocket. "Never fear. I'll just call Ferb and have him come rescue us." He began to dial, and then stopped. "Unless, of course, my battery is dead."

Isabella fished in her pocket for her own phone. "I do not appear to have any service."

Phineas held out his hand. "Let me see it." Isabella handed him the phone. Phineas fiddled with it for a few minutes, then reached over and opened the glove compartment. "'Scuse me," he mumbled as he felt around. He managed to bump Isabella's knee, and for some reason, felt an incredible urge to do it again. Either way he resisted, and retrieved a flat head screw driver.

"Uh, what do you think you're doing?" Isabella asked.

"Taking your phone apart. I'm going to try and boost the signal using the car radio."

"You might think that, but I say you are not taking apart my brand new phone."

Phineas looked sort of hurt. "You know I never break anything. I've done this a million times."

"Yeah, but the last two times you took my phone apart, it voided the warranty and my mom got really mad at me."

Phineas rolled his eyes. Isabella playfully punched his arm. He handed her phone back to her. "Okay, so now how do you propose I call Ferb?"

"Can't you rig something up to recharge your phone using the car battery?"

"I could…if I wanted to completely fry my phone's electronics, which is exactly what will happen if I hook it up to the 12 volt car battery."

Isabella sighed and sat back in the seat. She wrapped her arms around herself and shivered. "Wow. It did not take much time at all for all the heat to escape this car."

Phineas finally turned off the key and pulled it from the ignition. He took off his seat belt and twisted around to the backseat.

"What are you doing?" Isabella asked.

"Let's you and me move to the back seat. Then we can huddle together with Perry under this little blanket and hopefully stay warm until morning." He shifted Perry gently to the side and climbed into the backseat.

Isabella did not need any further convincing. As soon as Phineas had gathered up Perry, of course waking the platypus in the process, and sat back in the seat, she climbed back with him.

"Here, hold Perry a sec." Phineas handed Perry to Isabella and flipped the blanket out over the two of them. "Alright, cuddle up."

Isabella nearly squealed, but she remained calm and huddled up next to Phineas, putting one arm around his back and hugging him around the front. She sighed contentedly. Perry snuggled into the little groove between them, quite toasty completely under the blanket.

Phineas instantly felt warmer, and temperature had nothing to do with it. But somehow, he felt strangely comfortable with Isabella wrapped around him. And whatever it was making him feel this way…it seemed to trigger something in his brain. Without even realizing what he was doing, he said, "Hey, Isabella?"

She had already been dozing off again, her eyes closed. "Hmm?"

For a brief moment, Phineas bit his lip, trying to hold back the words, but he just couldn't. "You're pretty."

Isabella forced her eyes open and looked at Phineas. "What?" She was shocked.

"I said I think you're pretty."

She stared at him a moment. "You're speaking scientifically here, aren't you?"

"No," Phineas said slowly.

"Really?"

"Yes, really."

Isabella stared at him for a few seconds. And then, without thinking about it, she kissed Phineas.

When they broke apart, Phineas grinned. "I was wrong."

Isabella was confused. "What do you mean?"

"Turns out, I am attracted to you. I didn't think I was."

"Okay…"

She started to slide back down in the seat, feeling sort of awkward and wishing she hadn't done what she just did.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't know."

"Was I not a good kisser?"

Isabella looked back up at him. "You didn't really kiss back."

"You didn't really give me a chance to." Phineas shifted slightly and pulled Isabella back up. "Come on. Let's try again."

Isabella hesitated, but Phineas didn't. He pressed his lips firmly against hers and closed his eyes.

"How was that?"

Isabella smiled. "Better."

She slid down again and rested her head on his chest. Feeling more comfortable this time, she slowly dozed off again.

Phineas, however, did not find falling asleep that easy. His nervous system was in overload now. He wished he could get back behind the wheel and keep driving so he could think about what had just happened, but of course, they were out of gas.

He did his best. He thought hard. He thought carefully. And when he was done thinking twenty minutes later, he looked down at Isabella. She was sleeping peacefully on his chest, her lips curved into a gentle smile.

Regardless of whether she could actually hear him or not, Phineas whispered, "You know what, Isabella? I think I love you."

He felt around under the blanket until he found Perry, who had long since crashed again from the medication. Phineas gently pet his pet platypus until he, too, finally fell asleep.

**I had a tough time coming up with an ending for this.**

**That was interesting. Once I started writing, I had the entire plot figured out by the time I got to about the sixth paragraph or so.**

**Shoot me a review if you have the time. I love reviews! If anyone can come up with a better title for this chapter, I'd love to hear your suggestions because "snow" is dumb.**


	5. Snow - Part 2

Snow - Part 2

**I'm Back!**

**First of all, once again, I have another follower on this story. That makes an even dozen. That's great, but why couldn't I have that many followers for my ****_P&F Industries_**** series? Why is this little culmination of stories I wrote, essentially on a whim, so popular? (Granted, 12 followers isn't a whole lot, but it blows my other stories out of the water.)**

**So I haven't come up with anything new for this story, but, thanks to Ryan Stoppable's review on the last chapter, I am going to make it a two-parter. Plus, I really wanted to see:**

**A: Phineas and Isabella's reactions waking up together after being trapped in a car during a snow storm,**

**And**

**B: How they manage to get home again.**

**It just felt like this story needed to be longer.**

**Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this one. I've had a lot of time to think and plan this one out.**

**Also: I really like including Perry in these little short stories. I like picturing the three of them together, whether lying in the grass in "It's Easy" or snuggled up under a blanket in the backseat of Phineas's Torino. I think it adds something to the story. What's your opinion? More Perry? Less Perry?**

**P.S. Pretendy the Practicepus is from a deleted scene from ATSD.**

_About fifteen minutes before the snow storm…_

* * *

Dr. Doofenshmirtz glanced at his watch again. It was really cold out here on his balcony and he could feel his eyelids drooping.

"I guess Perry the Platypus isn't coming tonight," he said aloud to no one in particular. "I mean, granted, it is outside of our usual schedule, but he always comes any time of day or night that I have a scheme."

Doof looked at his watch one more time and sighed. He went inside and came back a minute later with a folding chair, on which he positioned Pretendy the Practicepus. "Well, Perry the Platypus, so nice of you to join me…you realize I'm saying that sarcastically, right?"

The stand-in secret agent made from a log painted teal replied just as the real Perry would: with silence.

"That's what I thought. So, I suppose you're wondering what I'm doing out here with three inators."

He gestured to the three machines on his balcony. One was huge, shaped like a satellite dish on a base with an antenna in the middle. Another looked like one of Doofenshmirtz's typical ray-guy style inators. The last was very small, and it pretty much just looked like a futuristic sled, only the rails had been replaced with repulsorlifts.

"Well, I'll tell you. They're all part of my evil scheme." He strolled over to the satellite dish and patted it. "This one is called the CHILLINATOR! It's actually been running since about three o'clock this afternoon. It's utilizes cooling coils like you'd find in a refrigerator. It's making the air in a fifty mile radius colder. Cold enough for snow!"

Doofenshmirtz moved over to the second inator, the ray-gun shaped one. "This one is called the PRECIPITATINATOR! I was going to call it the snowinator, but that just seemed too obvious. Anyway, I will shoot that thick cloud layer that's been up there all day with this machine. It uses static electricity and ice-crystals to combine with the clouds and create snow." He turned to Pretendy the Practicepus. "But not just any snow. It will be a blizzard unlike any other the Tri-State Area has ever seen! And the snow is of a special consistency. Very wet and heavy, but also powdery enough that you'll just sink right in if you try to walk in it. In just a few hours, there will be so much snow that the plows will get stuck and all activity in Danville will cease!"

He moved over to the last inator. "That's where this baby, the LEVITATINATOR!, comes in. With this, I will float over the snow to City Hall. There won't be anyone there, obviously, because no one will have showed up for work due to the deep snow, and I can just climb in through a window and take over the TRI-STATE AREA!"

Doofenshmirtz returned to the chair where Pretendy the Practicepus sat. "What do you think about that, Perry the Platypus?"

The log didn't reply. Doof sighed. "You know, I feel kinda stupid telling my whole plan to a log with tennis balls for eyes, but at this point…" He sighed again. "I miss Perry the Platypus."

Doofenshmirtz strolled back over to the precipitatinator. He casually pointed it up at the sky, not at anything in particular, and fired. A beam of muted blue energy was emitted and flew up until it struck the clouds. A blue shockwave rippled across the sky outward from the impact point.

Seconds later, the first snowflake fluttered down onto Dr. Doofenshmirtz's balcony. It wasn't long before the snow was falling steadily. Doof dragged the folding chair and his stand-in inside and closed the door.

"And now we wait. And since you aren't really Perry the Platypus," Doof said to the log, "And since I'm so tired, I'm going to bed."

Leaving the chair and its occupant where they were, Doofenshmirtz retired to his bedroom for the night. Outside, the falling snow reached white-out conditions and began to pile up.

* * *

_And now, we skip ahead to morning…_

* * *

Isabella awoke when something jabbed her lightly in the stomach. She slowly opened her eyes, taking a moment to remember where she was and what had happened the night before.

Something larger slapped across her chest. She peered under the blanket and found Perry turning over in his sleep. He had poked her with one paw and then hit her with his large tail. She grinned as he settled back into the little gully between her and Phineas's bodies.

Isabella pushed the blanket down below her eyes, leaving her nose and mouth covered. She tightened her hold on Phineas and dozed back to sleep.

* * *

Phineas forced his eyes open. Like Isabella, it took him a moment to remember where he was, and more importantly why Isabella had her arms wrapped around him. He smiled when he recalled last night's events.

He looked at Isabella. She was completely buried under the blanket except for her eyes and part of her forehead. She had pulled the hood of her light jacket onto her head and just a few strands of her dark hair peeked out from underneath. Even almost completely obscured, Phineas still thought she was beautiful.

Shifting as little as possible to avoid coming out from under the blanket, Phineas peered out the car window, trying to see if it was still snowing. He couldn't see anything outside, for it was too dark. Figuring it was still night, he closed his eyes and tried to go back to sleep.

When he found he just couldn't doze off, he looked out the window again. He realized why it was so dark.

"Whoa."

Isabella awoke at the sound of his voice. She smiled as she sweetly said, "Hi, Phineas."

Phineas turned to her. "Good morning, Isabella."

She started to pull herself up but stopped as soon as cold air slipped under the blanket. "Brr." She shivered and pulled the blanket up with her. "What time is it? It can't be morning."

"I don't know what time it is, but look out the window."

Isabella looked past Phineas. When she didn't see anything, she squinted. Then her eyes widened. "Whoa."

"Yeah."

The snow was piled up almost completely to the top of the glass.

"And that's not all. Look at the roof." Phineas pointed to the center of the car roof. It was sagging a bit under the weight of the snow piled on top of it. "I hope it doesn't cave in. I don't want to be buried in snow."

Isabella held onto Perry so the platypus wouldn't fall onto the seat as Phineas slid out from under the blanket quickly, shivering from the sudden cold. He tried to push the blanket down so Isabella wouldn't loose all the heat.

"What are you doing?" Isabella asked.

"T-tr-rying t-to g-get-t the s-s-snow off-f the r-roof-f."

He moved between the front seats and crouched there awkwardly. He put his shoulders and upper back against the headliner and then pushed up with his legs. The metal roof made a popping sound as it regained it's original shape.

Isabella looked out the window. "Uh…Phineas?" The snow was sliding off the roof, which was good, but it was piling up around on the snow around the roof, completely covering the windows.

Phineas stopped and slowly bent down. The roof was no longer bowed in, so he returned to the back seat. Isabella lifted up the blanket and Phineas slid underneath, quickly slipping his arms around her again and pressing his cheek up against hers.

"You're freezing!" Isabella practically yelped.

Phineas smirked. "It's cold out there," he said, meaning out from under the blanket. "Well, that's one problem solved, only now we have a whole new set of problems."

They sat in silence for a few moments. Both suddenly felt very awkward and looked away from each other as they thought about the events of the night before.

_We kissed_, Phineas thought. _Was not expecting that. It felt good, and I've been attracted to her for a while now…but it was kinda weird. She's my best friend. Should she and I really be kissing? And I know we're huddled together for warmth but…before it felt right...now it feels…awkward. _

_Was I premature in thinking that I love her?_

He found Perry under the blanket with his left hand and stroked his fur gently, trying to make it seem like he wasn't focused on cuddling Isabella. Perry purred in his sleep.

Suddenly, Phineas felt something else. It wasn't Perry. It felt like skin. And then he realized that Isabella must have had the same idea he did. They had both been petting Perry and his hand had ended up on top of hers.

They turned to look at each other. There was a very tense moment. It only lasted a second, but it seemed to last an eternity. Phineas's mind was flying. _What do I do? What do I do? I have to decide right now! Do I love her? For real? _He thought about everything that he and Isabella had ever been through together and everything that he had felt since the gang's trip to Danville National Park. He thought about last night, the kisses and the warmth between them.

Finally, Phineas made his decision. He tightened his hand around Isabella's and looked into her eyes. "Isabella…"

Isabella's eyes seemed to plead him to finish his thought.

"…I love you."

She smiled at him and moved as close to him as she could. "And I love you, Phineas."

As Perry woke up wondering why there were two hands on his back but neither was petting him, Phineas and Isabella kissed again. They held their lips together, gently, for a long time. By the time they had easily broken the record for the longest continuous kiss, they finally broke apart.

Isabella smiled broadly at Phineas. "I guess being trapped here isn't so bad."

Phineas smiled back. "Not bad at all."

She nuzzled into his neck. "As long as I'm alone with you."

"Ngrgrgrgrgrgr."

They looked at each other and giggled. "We didn't forget about you, Perry," Isabella said with a smile. "Come up here with us." She reached under the blanket and pulled Perry up between them.

Phineas laughed and rubbed Perry's head. "Thanks for getting sick, old boy. It's thanks to you we're stuck here."

"Ngrgrgr."

They laughed and each put one arm around the platypus. They pulled each other closer with their other arms and eventually fell asleep again.

**This is going to have to have one more chapter to resolve. Gotta see what Doof does and how Phineas and Isabella (and Perry…and the Ford Torino) get home.**

**Keep the reviews coming! I missed them during my brief hiatus.**


	6. Snow - Part 3

Snow - Part 3

Dr. Doofenshmirtz awoke abruptly when his alarm blared through his bedroom. He quickly became excited. "Today's the day! I am finally going to take over the entire TRI-STATE AREA!"

He jumped out of bed and threw on his slacks, shirt, and lab coat and then covered those with a heavy parka and waterproof pants. His usual socks and shoes were replaced by thermal socks and boots.

"Alright, ready to go!" Doof cried, and he tore out of his bedroom at top speed. He ran out onto the balcony, waded through the deep snow, (which was still falling, but in much smaller quantities) and hopped onto his Levitatinator. He started it and floated up into the air a few feet.

Doofenshmirtz looked down at the streets below and smiled mischievously. None of the snow that had fallen had been cleared from the roads. Looking down from his building in one direction, he could see a man attempting to start a dump truck with a plow on the front, but it was too cold and refused to turn over.

"HA HA! My evil plan is working perfectly! Now onto City Hall!"

He steered the floating sled off the balcony. Unfortunately, the Levitatinator could only float by pushing against the ground; It couldn't fly. So when the sled cleared the balcony, it dropped like a rock.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAATHISISAMAJORDESIGNFLAWAAAAAAHHHHHHHH H!"

When the Levitatinator was just a few feet off the high-piled snow, the repulsorlifts attempted to slow the falling sled, but it had too much momentum and the Levitatinator slammed into the snow. Doof was thrown off and he landed face down in the snow. "Ow."

The Levitatinator was stuck in the snow, but when Doof picked himself up and pulled himself back on, he managed to get it unstuck and it rose back into the air. "Okay, I'm good. I got this."

Doofenshmirtz steered for City Hall.

* * *

The Levitatinator floated up and onto the front "porch" of City Hall. Thanks to the overhang, it only had about six inches of snow on it. Doofenshmirtz hopped off the sled and landed in the snow. He trudged up to the front door and turned the knob. The door did not yield.

"Oh. Right. They lock up at night," he said disdainfully. But, his mood quickly changed. "But that's okay, because I brought my trusty LOCK-PICKINATOR!"

He fished a small device from his pocket and stuck it above the lock with a suction cup. A thin metal arm extended and was inserted into the key hole.

"And now we- _I_- wait. Forgot Perry the Platypus isn't here."

* * *

Carl sighed as he opened his front door. The snow was piled up so high he couldn't even see out it. He lifted his shovel and began pushing the snow on top back. He stopped when his phone buzzed.

He set down his shovel and pulled his phone from his pocket. When he saw the screen, he gasped.

"Security camera number zero-zero-zero-zero-one," he spoke quickly. The message on the screen disappeared and was replaced by a blank screen with only the words NO SIGNAL. "Power must be out. Switch to auxiliary power!" Carl yelled at the phone.

PLEASE WAIT

Carl pulled off his gloves and shut his front door. He held the phone in his hand tightly, fearing what he was about to see.

BACK UP POWER ENABLED - LIVE FEED - CAMERA 00001

The words disappeared and an image appeared. It was an overhead view of City Hall's front porch. And there was Dr. Doofenshmirtz, leaning against the wall while something attached to the door worked at the lock. The contraption on the door had set off a sensor inside the lock that had detected a metal other than brass (Which is what all the state issued keys to City Hall are made of).

"I gotta call Major Monogram!"

Carl quickly dialed the Major's contact. After a few rings, the Major answered in a rather groggy voice. "What is it, Carl?"

"Sir! Dr. Doofenshmirtz is breaking into City Hall!"

"WHAT?!" Monogram didn't sound so tired anymore. "How is that possible?"

"I don't know!"

"We have to get to HQ, pronto!"

"Right away, sir!"

Carl hung up and returned his phone to his pocket. Forgetting about his blocked doorway, he rushed to his bedroom. On the wall was a large glass enclosure surrounding a jet pack. On the glass, in red painted letters, were the words INCASE OF CITY TAKE OVER BREAK GLASS. Next to the enclosure was a sledgehammer dangling from a heavy chain. Carl grasped the handle and swung at the glass with all his might. The glass shattered, tinkling to the floor. He reached in and grabbed the jet pack. Then he frowned.

"This was really stupid. I could have just put this thing in my closet. Now I've got glass all over the floor."

He ran to the window and opened it. The snow was piled up almost over the sill. Carl put on the jet pack, climbed out the window, and rocketed off to the O.W.C.A. Headquarters.

* * *

Carl and Major Monogram landed on the roof of the O.W.C.A. at almost exactly the same time.

"Let's go! Let's go!" Monogram cried as he and Carl ditched their jetpacks and ran in through the door to the stairs leading down. "How was Doof able to get to City Hall in the first place? Agent P always stops him before he even gets close!" Monogram yelled as they headed for the computer lab.

"Sir, don't you remember? He called in sick two days ago."

Monogram froze. "But he had a replacement on Tuesday. So you're telling me that he had a replacement two days ago, but not today?"

"Well, based on Doof's track record, on the occasion Agent P isn't there, he thwarts himself."

Monogram face palmed. "I'll deal with you later," he growled as he pointed at Carl. "Right now, we need to contact Agent P!"

Carl sat down at his computer, which was off of course, due to the power outage that engulfed the city thanks to the snow. He flipped a switch on the wall and a huge generator in the basement sprang to life. When his computer finally started up, he tried to raise Perry on the agent's wrist communicator, but couldn't. He tried a few more times without success.

"He's not answering his wrist comm, sir," he said, panic in his voice.

Monogram looked up at the ceiling. "Agent P, where are you?"

* * *

If someone happened to be walking (or stumbling) through the deep snow in the woods outside Danville, they would never know that there was a blue 1970 Ford Torino buried in the snow with a boy, a girl, and a platypus asleep inside.

Perry was sleeping comfortably in Phineas and Isabella's warm embrace. The two teens held each other tight in their sleep, Perry held between the two of them. The muffled beeping of Perry's watch beneath the blanket was not enough to wake any of them.

Perry smiled. He was dreaming.

In his dream, he found himself in the master bedroom of the Flynn-Fletcher house, lying on the windowsill. There was a snow storm howling outside.

Perry heard the door open behind him and he turned around. Phineas and Isabella entered the room, their hands joined. They were both dressed in pajamas. They let their grasp on each other go as Isabella headed over to the bed and Phineas approached Perry.

"Come on, boy," Phineas said as he scooped the platypus into his arms. He carried Perry over to the bed.

Isabella climbed in on her side and Phineas did the same on his side, bringing Perry in with him. He set Perry down on the sheets.

Perry looked up at Phineas and Isabella above him. They leaned toward each other and kissed, long and exaggerated. When they pulled apart, Phineas said, "Well, my beautiful wife, shall we embark for dreamland with our faithful platypus?"

Isabella giggled. "We shall."

They slid down under the covers and pulled each other close, Perry gently sandwiched between them.

"Goodnight, Isabella," Phineas said.

"Goodnight, Phineas." They rubbed their noses together playfully, and then turned to Perry.

"Goodnight, Perry," they said in unison.

"Ngrgrgrgrgr."

Then Phineas turned off the light and Phineas and Isabella snuggled up together with Perry between them. The wind and snow howled outside, but Perry felt very safe, warm and secure between the two who he had dreamed as husband and wife.

The real Perry smiled in his sleep, still completely unaware of the beeping coming from his watch.

* * *

Monogram was nearly panicking. Suddenly he had an idea. "Carl!" he exclaimed, a bit louder than he meant to. "Can you boost the volume on Agent P's communicator from here?"

"I think so. Why?"

"Humor me. Boost it up."

Carl spun back to the computer. "Boosting away."

* * *

The beeping under the blanket grew louder. This time, Perry heard it and awoke. He quickly slapped his hand over it and shut off the beacon. He couldn't take a call from Monogram here. It would wake Phineas and Isabella.

Perry frantically looked around the interior of the car, and then under the blanket. The smiled when he saw Isabella's mp3 player in her jacket pocket. He carefully fished it out and unplugged the earbuds. He then plugged them into the audio jack on his watch and put in the earbuds in.

He answered the call. Monogram's face appeared on the little screen. "Agent P! Finally!"

* * *

The Lock-pickinator beeped.

"I'm in! Yes! Yes! Yes! I'm in!" Doofenshmirtz cried, jumping up and down.

He plucked the device off the door and returned it to his pocket, then slowly tried the knob.

The door yielded. "YES! I'M IN, BABY!"

Dr. Doofenshmirtz walked into City Hall and locked the door behind him.

**Cliff Hanger! Duh-Duh-Duh!**

**How exactly did this become more about Perry and Doofenshmirtz than Phineas and Isabella? I blame Ryan Stoppable.**

**Yeah, this is going to have one more part. I was going to end it in this chapter, but this seemed like a great place for a chapter break.**

**Please review! I can't get enough reviews! No such thing as a review that's too long, either!**


	7. Snow - Part 4

Snow - Part 4

Monogram spoke hurriedly and with some fear in his voice. As Perry listened to him explain the situation, his eyes grew wider.

"…you must stop him at all cost! And I mean 'all cost' when I say that!"

Perry sighed and pointed his watch at Phineas and Isabella behind him, then at the snow-blocked window.

"Doofenshmirtz managed to trap you, too, huh?" Perry nodded. Monogram put his forehead in his hand. "Now I have no idea what to do."

"Sir?" Carl asked. Monogram backed away from his camera and turned his attention to Carl. "I think I know how Doofenshmirtz created all the snow. There's an intense concentration of cold-radiating Freon on the balcony of Doofenshmirtz's building. If we could somehow disable that devise, the temperature would rise back to normal, enough to melt the snow." He paused. "Not all at once, of course, even at fifty degrees Fahrenheit it would take a few days to completely melt, but it would melt enough that at least the plows would be able to clear the roads and Agent P could make his way to City Hall!"

"Carl, you are a genius."

"Thank you, sir!"

"Get going."

"What?"

"Go. Take your jetpack and go knock out that device."

"REALLY?! Like a real agent?!"

"We don't have a whole lot of choice here, do we?"

Carl sprang up from his chair and saluted Major Monogram. "I won't let you down sir!" And with that, he took off for the stairs to the roof.

Monogram turned back to the camera. "Don't worry, Agent P! Help is on the way! You know, indirectly."

Perry smiled and switched off the watch. He returned Isabella's earbuds to her pocket…and then snuggled back in. He didn't have to get up just yet.

* * *

Doofenshmirtz gave one final push and the couch from the lobby was wedged firmly against the door. "Whew! Now that I'm barricaded inside, I can get on with ruling."

He shed his heavy jacket and snow pants, and then headed for the Mayor's office. On the door was a plaque that read MAYOR ROGER DOOFENSHMIRTZ. "Don't need this anymore." Doof slid the plaque from the holder and broke it over his knee, right between ROGER and DOOFENSHMIRTZ. He slid the DOOFENSHMIRTZ half back into the holder. The other half he flipped over and, using the sharp corner of his Lock-pickinator, scratched EMPEROR into the metal and slid it back in the holder.

"That's better. Oh! I should totally blog this!" Doof snapped a selfie with his cell phone with the "improved" nameplate behind him.

"Now," he said as he opened the door to the Mayor's office, "the first thing I'm going to do is get rid of that blasted O.W.C.A.!"

* * *

Perry wasn't the only one dreaming. Phineas was dreaming, too. His dreams usually spun out of control, never staying the same for more than a few seconds, and then his subconscious would change its mind and switch to something else. After waking up on this particular day, he would wonder why all his dreams that day were movie-themed.

He found himself standing in front of the door to a small ground level building. He couldn't tell where he was, but there was snow falling and it was very dark. He opened the door and walked in to find a dim, but warmly lit bar. There was only one person inside, facing the far wall. "Hello, Isabella."

Isabella turned around, a smile on her face. "Phineas Flynn," she said slowly. "Always knew someday you'd come walking back through my door. I never doubted that. Something made it inevitable. So, what are you doing here in Nepal?"

Phineas put his arm around her and slowly leaned toward her face, breaking the original movie scene. "I need one of the pieces your father collected." And then he kissed her, his fedora sliding back on his head as the brim hit her forehead. Isabella moaned softly and closed her eyes. When Phineas ended the kiss, he stared at her beautiful face, her hair pulled back behind her head in a messy pony tail.

As she smiled warmly and looked back at him with loving eyes, she whispered, "I learned to hate you in the last ten years."

"I never meant to hurt you," Phineas whispered back, and then he kissed her again.

Isabella giggled. "These lines don't really work in this tone."

"No, no they do not."

And then they kissed again.

* * *

"Okay, this one goes here, and this one goes there…connect these…Got it!" Doofenshmirtz slid out from beneath the camera assembly and stood up. He straightened his lab coat and took his position in front of the camera. "Here we go."

He turned on the camera.

* * *

Major Monogram noticed Carl's computer screen flashing with an incoming message. He stepped over to the desk and stared at the keyboard. "Oh, how does this thing work? Uh…" He scanned the keyboard and decided to just hit ENTER. The flashing stopped and Doofenshmirtz appeared on the screen, an evil smirk on his face. "Doofenshmirtz!"

"That's right!" Doof replied. "I've taken over City Hall! I am now your superior! HA HA HA!"

Monogram frowned. "Get to the point, Heinz. What is it you want?"

"I want the O.W.C.A. completely shut down! All agents must stand down and I will have the building sealed up as soon as I can find some henchmen to seal it for me."

Monogram folded his arms. "Well, I can't do that."

"You would dare disobey your superior?!"

"No, but the power is out. I couldn't contact my agents even if I wanted to." That was a lie, but Doof didn't know that.

Or, maybe he did. "Then how are you receiving this video call?"

"Back up generator. But it's about to run out of fuel. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if it quit before I was finished speaking this senten-"

Monogram grabbed the edge of the desk and flipped it over. The computer crashed to the floor and died. "Carl, you'd better hurry up."

* * *

And, of course, Isabella dreamt of Phineas. She didn't find it so strange that her dream was based on a movie. For her, it was a regular occurrence.

She stood near the low wall of the ocean cliff-side fort, dressed in a rather large and frilly gown. Phineas was next to her, his red hair nearly shoulder length and wearing a large gray hat with a massive plume feather. Ferb stood a feet away, dressed all in light green and wearing a long, curly gray wig.

She looked into Phineas's eyes and smiled. Phineas smiled back.

She faced Ferb when the Brit spoke. "So, this is the path you've chosen?" Phineas glanced his way, too. "After all, he is an blacksmith."

Isabella turned back to Phineas and their eyes met again. "No." She reached up and playfully knocked his hat off. Phineas laughed. "He's a pirate."

Ferb grinned and slowly walked away. Phineas leaned forward and his lips met Isabella's.

* * *

The jetpack sputtered. "Uh-oh," Carl squeaked. He looked up above him. He was just a dozen feet from the balcony. "Come on…just a little further…"

The rockets sputtered again and the engines sounded like they were shutting down. Carl let go of the hand grips and reached as high above his head as he could. As the last of the fuel was spent and the engines stalled out, Carl grabbed the balcony railing. His fingers almost lost their hold on the slippery railing. The jetpack was weighing him down too much.

Quickly, Carl shrugged off the jet pack. It fell forty stories to the snow in the street. Finding his grip easier, Carl struggled up and over the rail, collapsing to the deck in the deep snow. "Whew."

He took a moment to catch his breath, then stood up and trudged through the snow to the Chillinator. He scanned the control panel for the inevitable self-destruct button. Finding it very obviously placed, he reached his finger toward it, then stopped. There was a large dial, obviously taken off of a thermostat, next to a tiny LCD screen. The screen showed: 15 degrees. The notches on the dial knob ranged all the way from 0 to 100 F.

"Hmm…instead of destroying this device, I can reverse it and melt the snow faster!" He quickly cranked the dial up to 75. "That ought to be good enough."

In just a few moments, the Chillinator began radiating off warm air. The air around the Doofenshmirtz Evil Inc. building slowly became warm and the snow began to melt.

Carl nodded with satisfaction and headed toward the door to Doofenshmirtz's apartment. "Oh, wait!" He spun on his heal and trudged back through the snow to the Precipitatinator. He slapped the self-destruct button and covered his face with his hands as the machine exploded.

"That'll do."

* * *

The man who had been trying to start the snow plow down the street for the last few hours suddenly shrugged off his heavy jacket. "Wow. That was an abrupt change in temperature." Then he suddenly had a moment of realization.

He hopped up into the cab of his dump truck. He inserted the key into the ignition and twisted it. It cranked, but still refused to start.

"Come on, baby, you can do it." He tried again, but the engine still refused to turn over. "Come on…" He tried one more time. Finally, the air's warmth had been around the engine for enough time to thaw it out. The big International diesel engine roared to life. "Yes!"

He stepped on the gas pedal a few times and revved the engine, warming it up. A minute later, he shifted the truck into drive and stepped on the gas. The truck lurched forward through the deep snow. It didn't really seem like there was any less snow, but it had become less dense, not so powdery, and easily plowed.

All over the Tri-State Area, city-owned dump trucks with plows, carrying salt and sand, and residents with plow-bearing pickup trucks, began to swarm the streets. They shoved the melting snow into huge piles, slowly freeing Danville from its frozen gridlock.

* * *

As Carl returned to the street, his phone rang. The caller ID showed it was Major Monogram. He answered it.

"Mission accomplished, sir! The snow is melting."

"Carl, listen! Doofenshmirtz is in City Hall! He's ordered the O.W.C.A. to stand down! As an unpaid intern, that order does not affect you. The fate of the Tri-State Area rests in your hands now! You must find Agent P and get him to City Hall!"

Carl looked ready to panic. "I'll do my best, sir," he croaked.

But the line was already dead.

Carl returned the phone to his pocket. "Now what am I going to do? How am I going to find Agent P? Oh, duh." He pulled his phone from his pocket again. "I can use the GPS on my phone to track Agent P's wrist comm."

The GPS started and he programmed it to pick up the homing beacon in Perry's watch. "Got him! He's a dozen miles outside town!" His excited smile quickly faded. "But how am I going to get to him…?"

Across the street, a man was clearing the layer of snow from his Ford F-250 pickup. The truck had a plow mounted to the front.

"Now there's an idea…" Carl pulled his O.W.C.A. badge from his pocket and headed across the street. "Excuse me, sir?"

* * *

The sound of a passing diesel engine woke Phineas, Isabella and Perry. The snow on the driver's side of the car suddenly fell away. A plow truck had gone past, and the snow against the side of the Torino fell into the now open road.

"Hey! We're free!" Phineas cried out.

"Yay! And aww," Isabella said.

Phineas smiled at her. "Don't worry. It's only the beginning of winter. We have another three months to keep each other warm." He gave her a quick kiss and then climbed up to the front seat and out the driver's door. Perry was right behind him. Phineas didn't even notice the platypus slip out the door.

As Phineas began brushing the snow off the car, Perry ran into the middle of the road. In the distance, past the tree line and down a hill, across the Metropolitan Oval Aquatic Trench and through some fields, he could see the skyscrapers of Danville. His heart sank. He didn't have his any of his hover vehicles, his hang glider, or his scooter. He turned back to Phineas's Torino.

"Whew! When did it get so warm?" Phineas asked. He shed his jacket and threw it into the car, then returned to pushing the snow off the old Ford.

Perry sighed. He would be better off waiting for Phineas to finish clearing off the car and ride home.

With the snow slowly melting, it didn't take Phineas long to finish clearing off the Torino. When he climbed back in, Isabella was already in the passenger seat. She, too, had removed her jacket, and was holding Perry on her lap.

"Weird how the temperature changed so quickly," Isabella observed.

"Sure is." Phineas gestured to the sky through the windshield. "All the clouds are gone, too."

"What is this, New Jersey?"

Phineas frowned, looking rather confused.

Isabella shrugged. "I have an uncle who lives in New Jersey. Apparently, the weather there changes very sporadically."

Phineas put the key in the ignition. "I cannot confirm, nor deny that." He turned the key. Nothing happened. "Oh, yeah. I completely forgot. We're outta gas."

Perry face palmed.

"I think there's a gas station a mile or so up the road. Kinda far to walk, but at least now we don't have to worry about frostbite from not being properly dressed for the snow," Isabella said.

"Maybe we can even flag down a passing plow to give us a ride."

Phineas and Isabella climbed out. Isabella reached back in for Perry. Phineas locked the doors. They started walking toward Danville.

* * *

Carl looked at his phone. The arrow on the screen pointed dead ahead. He looked back up at the road. There, on the shoulder, were Phineas and Isabella, holding hands as they walked. Perry was in the crook of Isabella's free arm. When they looked up and saw the approaching truck, they let go of each other's hand and waved, hoping the truck would stop.

Carl pulled over and put the truck in park. He jumped out and jogged across the road. "Hello!" he greeted.

"Hey!" Phineas replied. "Thanks so much for stopping, mister."

"No problem."

Phineas squinted. "You look familiar."

Carl's heart skipped a beat. There was no way they could remember the day of the second dimension adventure, right?

Phineas snapped his fingers. "You spent a day with us in our backyard when we were ten!"

"Yeah!" Isabella exclaimed. "The day we built the anit-gravity fun launcher. Your name is…Carl! That's right!"

Carl relaxed. He had completely forgotten about that day. "Yeah, I did. Phineas and…" He paused. He knew Isabella's name, but he pretended not to.

"Isabella."

"Right, right. So do you guys need a lift?"

"Yeah. We ran out of gas a little ways down the road," Phineas said, pointing. "Do you think you could give us a lift to a gas station?"

Carl tried not to smile. There just happened to be a five-gallon gas can in the bed of the F-250. The man he had commandeered the truck from had had a snow blower in the back that he made Carl help him unload before he handed over the keys. Apparently, he had forgotten about his fuel can. "I just happen to have a fuel can right here. Hop in, I'll drive you back to your car."

"Thanks, Carl."

As they all climbed into the cab of the pickup, Carl winked at Perry. The platypus winked back.

Carl put the truck in drive and continued down the road.

* * *

Phineas and Isabella waved as Carl turned the truck around and headed back to town. The intern smiled. Yet again, his phone had come to the rescue.

The phone had been issued to him by the O.W.C.A. Not only did it give him access to every security camera and traffic cam in the city, a GPS and tracking device, and unlimited texting, he could also use it to effect a person's decisions. Thanks, ironically, to the technology from Dr. Doofenshmirtz's Devolition-ator from several years ago, Carl could set his phone to emit a signal that would tell a person's brain to do whatever he set it to tell them. In this case, he had used it on Phineas to tell the boy to drive to City Hall.

Carl smirked. If they didn't start paying him after this, he was quitting.

* * *

"Where are you going, Phineas? This isn't the way home."

"I know. I'm going to City Hall." Phineas turned left. City Hall was directly at the end of this street.

"Why?"

"I'm not sure. For some reason, I feel like I absolutely have to go there."

"Okay…"

"Hey, do you have cell service now? You can call our moms and let them know we're okay."

Isabella pulled out her cell phone. "Strangely, I do not. The storm must have knocked out the cell towers."

Phineas shrugged. "Oh, well." He turned the Torino into the parking lot and climbed out of the car. He stared at the building. While he wasn't looking, Perry slipped out the door and crept across the parking lot.

After a minute, Phineas climbed back into the car. "Alright, let's go home."

He steered out of the parking lot and headed for home. Perry watched them from the snow covered bushes beside the building. When they were out of sight, he put on his fedora and turned his attention to City Hall.

Perry found an unlocked basement window and squeezed through. Once inside, he climbed into the air duct through a vent. He made his way up through the building to the mayor's office. Looking through a grate, he could see Doofenshmirtz leaning back in the big chair with his feet up on the desk. He actually looked rather bored.

Perry kicked out the vent and vaulted onto the desk.

"Perry the Platypus!" Doof cried, quickly sitting up. Perry pulled back his balled up fist, ready to punch. "Wait, wait, wait!" Doofenshmirtz cried. "I surrender."

Perry looked confused. He didn't really look like he believed Doof.

"Seriously. I surrender." Perry hopped off the desk and stared at his nemesis. Doof stood up and rubbed the back of his neck. "Look, here's the thing. I've been trying to take over the Tri-State Area for years. But, now that I've actually done it…ruling over a few thousand people sounds tiring and boring. I relinquish my position."

Perry was speechless. Well, he would have been regardless, but even if he could speak, he wouldn't have been able to say anything.

Doofenshmirtz continued. "Actually, I think I'm going to give up on doing evil altogether. I mean, let's face it: I'm not getting any younger, and neither are you. I can't take all the beatings anymore."

Perry squinted at Doofenshmirtz and frowned. "Don't give me that look. I accomplished my life's goal, now I'm done. I think I'm finally going to break in my Retirinator. Not to be confused with my Re-tire-inator, which shoots tires. I'm talking about my overstuffed arm chair, big house cat, and books of crossword puzzles that's been sitting in the corner of my lair for the last…I don't know how many years."

Perry rolled his eyes.

"Come on, Perry the Platypus. Let's go home." They left through the office door. "Just a sec." Doof slid the backwards half of the plaque off the door and flipped it back around so it read MAYOR ROGER DOOFENSHMIRTZ once again. "Okay, let's go."

And with that, Dr. Doofenshmirtz and Perry left City Hall.

* * *

While Phineas and Isabella were busy recounting their night to their respective families, Doofenshmirtz returned home and Perry returned to his lair to write out his mission report. He printed it out and put the pages in an envelope. Then, after a moment of consideration, he printed out another file he'd had saved on his computer for a long time, which got its own envelope. He then took a tube to the O.W.C.A. headquarters building.

* * *

Doofenshmirtz was strolling past his back door when he noticed his Chillinator still on the balcony. "Oh, almost forgot."

He went outside. "Don't need this thing anymore." He punched the self-destruct button and the inator exploded. "And that's the end of that phase of my life."

As he went back inside, the air slowly began to grow chilly again.

* * *

When Perry was outside Major Monogram's office, he stopped and considered what he was about to do. Inside the office, he heard Carl shouting. "YES! Thank you, sir!" A moment later, the door flew open and Carl rushed out. "Guess what, Agent P! I'm finally going to get a paycheck! A whole three dollars an hour!" And then Carl took off down the hall, yelling "WOO HOO!"

Perry sighed. He took a deep breath and entered Monogram's office, closing the door behind him.

Monogram was sitting at his desk. He looked up. "Ah, Agent P. Got your mission report?"

"Ngrgrgrgrgr." He held out the two envelopes. Monogram took them. The one on top was his mission report. "Thanks Agent P. What's this other one?" He tossed the mission report down on his desk and removed the paper from the envelope. He scanned the paper, his eyes slowly widening. He looked up. "You're resigning?"

Perry removed his fedora and wrist comm and set them on the desk. Without waiting for Monogram to say anything else, he saluted and rushed out of the office.

* * *

Phineas answered the knock at the front door.

"Hey, Phineas."

"Hey, Isabella. Come on in." Phineas closed the front door and they both headed for the living room.

"It's getting cold out again," Isabella relayed in transit.

"Sporadic weather indeed."

They sat down on the couch. For a moment, neither was sure what to say to the other.

"So…about last night…and this morning," Isabella began, "Where does that leave us?"

Phineas thought for a moment. "I don't know. Where does it leave us?"

Isabella laughed nervously. "I asked you first."

Phineas put his hand on his non-existent chin and thought hard. "Hmm…"

Before Phineas could come up with an answer, Perry entered the room. "Oh, there you are Perry," they said simultaneously. They looked at each other and smiled. Phineas gestured for her to moved closer. She did, and he put his arm around her.

"Look, I said I love you, and you said you love me. We know this for sure. But for now, let's not worry about where we're at. I don't think I'm quite ready to label our relationship. No matter what, you're still my best friend." He laid down on the couch, pulling Isabella down with him. "We can figure it out later. But for right now, let's just lay here and snuggle."

It wasn't really the answer Isabella was hoping for, but she couldn't object to cuddling with Phineas. "Okay." She put an arm around him and nuzzled his cheek, her soft hair tickling his face. Phineas sighed contentedly.

"Wanna watch a movie?" he asked.

"Okay. What do you want to watch?"

"For some reason I can't explain, I really want to watch Raiders of the Lost Ark."

"I was going to suggest Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, but, whatever. That's fine, too."

Phineas flicked on the TV and searched through his movie library while Perry laid down on the floor in front of the couch. He was feeling some qualms about resigning from the O.W.C.A.

As the movie started and Phineas put the remote on the end table, he happened to glance down at the floor. "Hey, Perry. Come on, boy, climb up here with us."

Perry's qualms instantly vanished. He jumped up on the couch. Phineas encircled Perry with his arm and Isabella scratched his head with two fingers. Perry purred. This was the whole reason he quit. He was getting old, as Doofenshmirtz had pointed out, but after years of crime fighting, he'd had enough. He was ready for some relaxation. Now that Phineas and Isabella were unofficially together, it seemed to him like the perfect time to start taking it easy. He was looking forward to spending time with the two of them, hopefully doing nothing at all, in the future.

Phineas turned his head around backwards to face Isabella behind him. He smiled broadly. "I wish we had started doing this years ago."

Isabella grinned and rolled her eyes. "You have no idea."

And as Perry dozed off, they kissed passionately.

**Okay, this story really spun out of control. I'm not really sure how I ended up here, and I'm not really sure if I'm happy with the outcome. The plot seemed to just fall apart near the end and I had no idea where to go with it. Either way, this is the conclusion I came to, so this is where it's staying.**

**I'm sorry about the super anti-climactic ending to the "Doofenshmirtz Take-Over" story. I just couldn't come up with a better way to end it and I just wanted to finish it, so that's what came out of my keyboard.**

**Tomorrow, It's back to P&F Industries. I've been neglecting it for too long now and I already know exactly what's going to happen next.**

**Count on there being more of this, though. I have to. I've got 12 people following this, so there's gotta be more.**

**Please review! Please! Please. Please? Review!**


	8. Could It Be

**This story is up to 1,300 views (only my second story to break a thousand) and a whopping 14 followers!**

**Yippie!**

**I had to increase the rating to T for this story. I think you'll understand why.**

**Phineas and Isabella are like 23 or 24. I don't care, pick one.**

**This chapter was inspired by the song ****_Could It Be _****by Charlie Worsham. (Boy, I would hate to have a name like that.) It's not really a songfic but…I don't know.**

Could It Be

Phineas awoke with a slight headache. He mentally cursed Ferb for dragging him to that bar last night. Phineas wasn't at all a heavy drinker, but for reasons he could not remember, he had gone slightly overboard last night. Therefore, he wasn't really hung over, just a little.

_Well, I may have been a little heavy with the beer, but at least I woke up in my own bed,_ he thought. That had never happened to him before, but the idea made him nervous. It was still dark, but he could make out the bedroom of the small apartment he rented.

Phineas started to sit up so he could fetch some asprin from the bathroom. He stopped when he suddenly became aware of a weight on his chest and heard a quiet moan.

Phineas froze. He was not alone in the bed. _That is definitely not Perry. _He looked down at the blankets. The definitive shape of a human body was completely obscured by the comforter. He slowly and carefully lifted the blankets, praying that whoever it was under there didn't wake up.

_Oh. Whew! _He knew who it was. Phineas wasn't really sure what she was doing here, but it was better than waking up with a stranger. _It's just Isabella. Thank goodness._

Then a second realization struck Phineas. _Oh…crap._ Neither of them were wearing any clothes.

He quickly dropped the blankets back down. _What the heck happened last night? I can't imagine that I had that many drinks that I can't even remember what happened._

One more clear thought forced its way into Phineas's head. He had a bottle of asprin in his bedside table. Stretching out with his arm as far as he could to avoid moving his body, he managed to pull out the drawer and wrap his fingers around the bottle. He uncapped it and swallowed two pills with just saliva, then replaced the bottle.

As his headache started to subside, last night's occurrences began to slowly work their way back into his head…

* * *

_Last night…_

Phineas followed his step brother into the bar.

"Why did you drag me here?" Phineas asked.

Ferb didn't answer. He turned around as the door opened behind them. Several people that neither of them had ever seen before entered the bar.

"Come on, Ferb, let me go home."

Ferb shook his head and led Phineas over to the bar. When he caught the bartender's attention, he held up two fingers and pointed at the Budweiser tap. The bartender nodded, and in a moment, Ferb was pushing a tall glass filled to the brim into Phineas's hands.

"Fine. I'll have one beer, and then I'm going home," Phineas insisted, taking a sip.

Ferb checked his watch, and then quickly looked up as the door opened again. An old man in a lab coat entered, mumbling something about getting his revenge.

"Why do you keep looking up every time the door opens?" Phineas asked.

Ferb ignored him and chugged down half of his own beer. He checked his watch one more time.

The front door opened again and in walked Isabella.

Ferb quickly threw down money for his drink, slapped Phineas on the shoulder and hurried out the door. Phineas turned to call after him.

"Ferb! Where ya going? Don't leave me here!"

"Hi, Phineas."

Phineas was not expecting Isabella to be standing right next to him and her words startled him. He jumped, almost spilling his beer. "Oh! It's just you," he said breathlessly.

Isabella looked a bit hurt. "What do you mean 'just me?'"

"You startled me. For all I know, you could have been a maniac psycho killer. I'm relieved to see that it's you."

Isabella narrowed her eyes at him briefly, then smiled. "Oh, okay." She sat on the bar stool next to Phineas and waved the bartender over. Phineas, however, had stood up and was fishing through his wallet to pay for his unfinished drink.

"Nice to see you, Isabella. But I have to go catch Ferb before he leaves me here." He tossed a few bills at the bartender and turned to leave, but Isabella grabbed his arm.

"No! Don't go! I haven't seen you in a while and I want to catch up!"

"But-"

"Don't worry, I'll drive you home…later. Now come on! You're my best friend and we haven't seen each other in almost two months. Sit and have a few drinks with me."

Phineas glanced toward the door, then back at Isabella. "Well…okay." He sat back down.

"Great!" she exclaimed. Then: "Bartender!"

The barkeep made his way down to them. "What can I get you, miss?"

"Two Boilermakers, please."

The barkeep looked surprised and impressed. "Wow. Not many people call it that anymore." He stepped away to fetch the drinks.

Isabella turned to Phineas to start a conversation, but Phineas interrupted her. "What the heck is a Boilermaker?"

She grinned slyly. "You'll see."

Soon the bartender brought two glasses of beer and two shots of whiskey. "Here you go."

"Thanks."

Phineas raised an eyebrow. "That's it? A shot and a beer? That's a Boilermaker?"

"Well, technically yes, but this isn't how I drink it." Isabella picked up one shot glass and dropped the entire thing carefully into the glass of beer, careful not to let the shot glass tip over. Then she did the same to the other one, which she pushed toward Phineas.

Phineas retracted. "Do you always drink like this?"

Isabella had already downed a quarter of her drink. "Only when you're here."

"Why?"

She hesitated, realizing what she had just said, then focused back on her glass and chugged down half of what was left. "No reason. Go on, try it."

Phineas looked at the beer glass with some uncertainty, then took a hearty sip.

"*cough!* *weeze* Ugh! How do you drink this?"

Isabella smirked again and drained the rest of hers. "What are you? A lightweight? Come on! Drink it!"

An hour later, Phineas had had three and Isabella, five.

* * *

_Well, that certainly would explain the slight memory loss,_ Phineas thought. _I think that's all the useful info from the bar. Let's see…what happened when I was leaving…?_

* * *

Phineas and Isabella stumbled out of the bar. Isabella was definitely drunk. She was giggling uncontrollably and leaning on Phineas to remain upright.

"My car'szz right *hic* over there," she slurred, pointing and fishing in her pocket for her keys.

"Oh, no," Phineas said, swiping the keys away from her. "We're calling a cab." Isabella hiccupped again and tripped over her own feet. Phineas caught her. "You can crash- haha…crash…at my place and I'll bring you back tomorrow for your car."

Isabella straightened up as best she could and looked at Phineas through half-closed eyes. "Why Phineas Flynn, are you asszking me to sleep with you?"

"Depends on your definition of the phrase "sleep with."

* * *

_Okay, I specifically remember saying that, so I can't have been _that_ drunk._

* * *

Isabella laughed hysterically. "Well, get on with it then!"

* * *

_Well, maybe I was more tipsy than I thought, considering that I didn't pick up on what she obviously meant by that._

He peeked under the covers again, just enough to make sure that Isabella was still asleep, trying not to look at his best friend's completely exposed body.

* * *

Phineas hailed for a cab and they climbed in. He gave the driver his address and the cab drove off.

Phineas was slightly surprised when Isabella leaned against him, but wrote it off as her lack of balance due to her high blood alcohol level. A moment later, his opinion changed when she blatantly nuzzled her temple against his shoulder. Once again, he wrote it off, figuring it was just some drunken "best-friend" affection, like when they occasionally held hands as kids.

When the cab reached Phineas's apartment complex, Phineas paid the cab driver and had to physically pull Isabella out of the taxi, for she was on the brink of falling asleep. She woke up when Phineas lost his grip on her and dropped her on the ground, thankfully on the grass instead of the concrete sidewalk.

"Oof! Ha ha. Hee hee," she giggled quietly.

"Isabella, I'm so sorry!" Phineas tried to pull her back to her feet and nearly succeeded in falling to the ground himself.

Finally, they made it to Phineas's apartment door. He unlocked it and they entered, Isabella with her arm around his neck, mostly for support. In the dark, Phineas heard, "Ngrgrgrgr."

"Oh, there you are Perry," Phineas said, spotting the platypus curled up on top of the couch back. "Isabella's staying with us tonight."

Perry looked at the swaying Isabella as she waved, then closed his eyes and went back to sleep.

"Will you be okay on the couch?" Phineas asked Isabella.

"But Phineas!" Isabella said, sounding like a little kid begging a parent, "I want to sleep with you!"

* * *

_Okay, that should have been a red flag right there,_ Phineas thought. _That sentence could mean two different things depending on which word was emphasized. _

_If she emphasized 'with,'_ _that means she really just wanted to sleep in my bed next to me. Or, the way she was acting last night, curled up against me. Which, come to think of it, is pretty much what she's doing right now._

He peeked under the blanket again. Isabella looked very peaceful sleeping there with her head on his chest. Phineas smiled and dropped the comforter back down again.

_But if she emphasized 'sleep,' then that means she wanted to…_

_The question is…what did she say?_

He tried very hard to remember exactly what Isabella had said last night, but he knew her voice so well, he could easily imagine it both ways and couldn't remember which she had actually said.

_Drat. Alright, what happened next?_

* * *

"Okay," Phineas said. "But if you throw up in my bed, I'm not going to be happy."

"Buddy, puke is the least of your worries right now."

Phineas looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "I'm still going to put the garbage can next to the bed incase you need it."

"Whatevs."

He guided her to his bedroom and closed the door. Then he looked at his bed, which was only a twin. "You sure about this, Isabella? My bed isn't really wide enough for two people."

Isabella was already struggling out of her shirt, which was putting up one heck of a fight. She was sort of tangled in it. "Doesn't really matter," she giggled. "I'm gonna be on top of you, anyway."

* * *

_Well, I think that just about solves the mystery of her intentions. _

_Really? Didn't pick up on it there? How stupid am I?_

_I don't actually remember her taking off her clothes. Actually, I don't even remember her ever getting her shirt off all the way._

_Oh, I know why…_

* * *

Phineas sighed and walked over to the bed. He pulled off his shirt and sat down on the edge of the bed, facing away from Isabella, to pull off his shoes and socks. Then he swung his legs up into bed and pulled the covers over his feet.

At this point, Phineas's memory became very fuzzy. He vaguely remembered Isabella climbing into bed next to him and pulling the covers up, but he could not remember if she was still wearing any clothing or not. He also could not remember ever taking off his shorts and underwear.

* * *

_Crud. I don't remember what happened after that. _

He moved his hand behind his head and thought hard. _There could still be a perfectly logical reason that both of us are naked that doesn't involve us…but I can't think of any. _

He glanced around the room, hoping for some kind of clue. Eventually his eyes landed on his cell phone on his bedside table.

_Duh! Security camera. _He picked up his phone. _Here's where my experiment to see if I truly do eat ten spiders a year in my sleep comes in handy. _

Phineas had set up a security camera that hung from the headboard of the bed and pointed down at his face. He had been recording himself sleeping every night since January 1st of that year, trying to catch spiders crawling into his mouth while he slept to test the theory that the average person eats ten spiders a year in their sleep. He could view the footage from his phone.

He found last night's footage and fast-forwarded until the point where he saw himself lay down. He couldn't actually see what Isabella was doing away from the bed because the camera was pointed almost straight down at his face.

Finally, he reached the point where Isabella climbed into bed next to him. And yes, she wore not a stitch.

_That's solved. _

Phineas tried not to focus on the very clear shot of his best friend's unobstructed form, which was very difficult because, as he admitted to himself, she was very pretty. Instead, he looked at his own face in the video. Digital Phineas's eyes were closed.

_I think I'm already asleep at this point. That explains why I don't remember anything after Isabella climbed in._

The camera had no microphone, and therefore the video had no sound. Fortunately, Phineas was rather adapt at reading lips. He watched Isabella look down, off camera, toward his waist and mouth the words: "Phineas…we can't do this if you've still got your pants on."

Isabella sat up again and moved almost completely off camera. Phineas could see his own body moving slightly. _Yeah…right there is where she pulled my pants off._

A moment later, Isabella laid back down next to Phineas, staring at his face, seemingly unaware that he was no longer conscious. Phineas read her lips as she said, "Whew. You know what, Phineas? I need to take a quick breather before we get started. I'm…I'm beat."

Isabella pulled the covers up over both of them. "I'm just going to rest my eyes for a few minutes."

She closed her eyes. Phineas was about to fast forward to see if anything happened after that, which he didn't expect. By now, he had deduced that Isabella had fallen asleep at this point in the video. He saw her lips start to move again, though, so he didn't fast-forward. He followed her mouth closely as she said, "Hey…hey, Phineas? I want to tell you something…I…I love you…I really do…I always have…can we get married someday?"

Phineas's eyes widened. He wondered how much of that was true and how much was the alcohol talking. He looked at the phone one more time and watched as Isabella twisted around, shifting her head completely under the comforter. The bump in the blanket that was her head stopped on his chest, right where she was now.

Phineas erased the video and set the phone back on his side table. _Well, the good news is that nothing happened last night. But now…I need to know…does Isabella really love me?_

_Well, regardless of whether she does or not…I kinda like laying here with her. The concept seems so wrong, but it really feels like it was meant to be. _He started to settle back down to enjoy the feel of her skin on his and the warmth of her body when he heard a slight moan and some shifting around under the blankets. Isabella was waking up.

_Aw. Not yet. I don't want her to move. It feels good…almost exciting…to have her laying there. I don't want this to end before I've had a chance to enjoy it. And who knows what's going to happen when she finds herself naked in bed with me._

The bump in the blankets that was her head slowly began to move toward him and he could feel her hair dragging along his chest as she headed toward the edge of the blanket.

_I guess I'm gonna find out._

Isabella slowly poked her head out from beneath the blanket, not willing to extend her body out past her chin. Her face was beat read, clearly embarrassed, and she looked at Phineas upside down. "Uh…hi, Phineas."

Phineas gave her a friendly smile, trying to make her feel less uncomfortable. "Hi, Isabella."

She hesitated. "Um…I don't remember exactly what happened last night…but based on some pretty obvious clues…I'm really sorry."

"You have nothing to be sorry about, Isabella. Nothing happened last night. Just sleep."

She looked slightly relieved, but her face was still red. "Oh…that's good." She allowed her hand to venture out from under the blanket and placed it on her temple. "Ugh…I've got a pounding headache."

Phineas quickly reached into his side table and retrieved the bottle of asprin, which he uncapped and poured two pills into Isabella's hand.

"Oh…thank you." She quickly swallowed them.

A few moments of awkward silence passed. Both of them were trying to figure out what to do next.

Isabella spoke up first. "So…um…Phineas…would you mind closing your eyes while I gather my clothes and get dressed?"

"Yes."

"Thank you." She watched his face, waiting for him to avert his gaze, but he didn't. He just looked back into her eyes.

"Wait, did you say 'yes' as in 'yes, I do mind?'"

"Yup."

Isabella wasn't quite sure how to react to that. "So you're saying that you aren't going to close your eyes." It wasn't a question.

"Yup."

"Okay…why not?"

Phineas sat up just slightly. Isabella grabbed the blanket to keep it from sliding down past her neck. "I am not going to close my eyes until you answer a few questions," Phineas explained.

Isabella looked confused. "This isn't going to be hard, is it?"

"No. Very simple 'yes' or 'no' answers."

"Okay. Fine. Ask away."

Phineas thought carefully about what he wanted to say. "Last night, you said some things. I want to know if the things you said were true or if it was just the Boilermakers talking."

"Um…okay."

"First: Is Pinky really a female dog?"

"No, Pinky is a boy."

"Okay. Glad we got that cleared up. Second: Is it true that you stole your favorite pink hair bow from a Wal-Mart when you were three?"

Isabella looked taken aback. "No, of course not!"

"I didn't think so, but I wanted to make sure."

"Are you done?"

"Almost. Just one more." Phineas looked Isabella square in the eyes and took a breath. "Do you love me?"

Isabella froze. "What?"

"Do you love me? Do you want to be my wife? Me, your husband? Do you want us to be together until the end of time?" And then, after a dramatic pause: "Do you want us to be more than just best friends?"

Isabella was shocked. She wasn't sure how to react. She quickly looked away from Phineas while she thought this through.

She could lie and say no…but what if that was really what _he _wanted, too? She didn't want to wreck their friendship. Last night almost did and it still might.

She was still thinking about how to respond when she felt Phineas's arm slide behind her head. Phineas was putting his arm around her. His arm wrapped around hers and found it's way to her hand. He closed his fingers around her hand and gave a gentle squeeze.

Isabella assessed the action and reached her conclusion. _I know what I have to do._

"Yes, Phineas. I love you."

Phineas gave a small smile and nodded. "I didn't think that sounded like alcohol."

Isabella expected him to say something else, but he didn't. So she did. "Phineas?"

"Yes?"

"Do you…do you love me?"

Phineas had been expecting her to ask that and was prepared with his response. "Well…I never really thought about it before. I mean, I've known you forever and we've always been best friends…but that's all I've ever thought of you as: my best friend."

Isabella's heart sank. But Phineas wasn't done speaking.

"But, I've never really considered _anyone_ as anything other than a friend. I've never been interested in being in a real, loving relationship before. At least, not until about ten minutes ago."

Isabella looked at him, hope returning to her.

"I don't really know if I love you that way, Isabella. I've never thought about it before. But I do know this: When I woke up this morning and found you here with me, first I was a little scared because I couldn't remember anything. After I determined that we didn't…do anything…I was really happy to have you here. I've never felt so comfortable being so close, I mean physically close, to anyone before. I felt like you belonged here with me."

Now she smiled. She couldn't help it.

"And when I felt you start waking up, I was a little upset that I didn't get a chance to enjoy lying here with you."

Isabella beamed, her eyes sparkling. "Well…I suppose I could stay here a little while. I like being here with you, too. Just as long as all we're doing is cuddling. I'm not ready to…you know."

"I'm not either. Just as long as I can hold you for a little while longer."

"Deal."

Phineas pulled her in closer and wrapped his free arm around her, too. She nestled back into the crook of his arm.

"You know, Isabella. I don't know if I love you…" She looked back up at him. "…But I think it's worth sticking around to find out."

Her smile widened.

"I think seeing you every once in a while when we just happen to run into each other isn't enough."

"I agree."

"Why don't we go out to dinner on Friday and do some real catching up? But without any alcoholic beverages."

"I'd like that."

* * *

About an hour and a half later, after they had taken turns closing their eyes while the other dressed and eating breakfast together, Phineas and Isabella headed out to Phineas's 1970 Ford Torino. Phineas was going to drive her back to the bar so she could pick up her car.

As they climbed in and buckled their seat belts, Isabella said, "That was kind of fun. It was nice to wake up with you for once instead of just imagining it." Phineas looked at her and laughed. Isabella covered her mouth. "Perhaps I said too much."

"Not at all." Phineas turned the key and the big 351 Cleveland V8 Ford engine roared to life. "I've never imagined waking up with you, but it was a nice change from waking up to Perry's bug breath. And way better you than anyone else I can think of."

Isabella laughed.

"We should do it again sometime," Phineas said as he backed out of his parking space and headed for the road.

"I'd love to," Isabella said. "But, you know, with clothes on next time."

Phineas pulled out onto the main road. With a sly grin, he said, "Oh, we'll see about that."

**Okay, I lied. It kinda was a songfic. Get over it.**

**I think this is the best quality writing I've done since I wrote "Standing in a Wheat Field." I'm very proud of how this turned out. I think there was just the right combination of plot and fluff to make this Phinabella story have a nice feel.**

**The entire last scene I wrote for the sole purpose of including the Ford Torino. I had to. It's appeared in every short story in here except "It's Easy."**

**Anyway, thank you everyone, for your support on this collection. Maybe by the time I write the next one-shot, I'll have sixteen followers!**

**Shoot me a review if you can and I will see you next time.**


	9. Night Train

**_Seventeen (17)_**** followers! I'm on a roll baby!**

**I wasn't planning on adding another chapter to this so soon, but I heard a song for the first time today and I said, "Okay, that song is just begging me to write a songfic for it." It's not perfectly written to the lyrics, but it's close.**

**The song is called ****_Night Train_**** by Jason Aldean. If you've read my story "Wabash Cannonball/Wreck of the Old 97," and two stories from my P&F Industries Series, "Something Wicked This Way Chuggs" and "Phineas and Perry: Intrepid Avengers" then you understand why I just had to write this story.**

**This story is part of the same timeline as "Don't Deny It" and "It's Easy," so, just for the record, Phineas and Isabella are teenagers again and they're already boyfriend/girlfriend. It's a few months after "It's Easy."**

Night Train

Isabella opened her eyes. Her cell phone was buzzing on her bedside table. She groaned at being waken up and glanced at her phone. It was a text from Phineas. It said simply: **Come to the window.**

"Urg." Isabella reluctantly fought out from under the covers. It was cold tonight, and her blankets were warm. The sudden chill gave her a shock.

She made her way to the front window and opened it. Phineas was standing on the front lawn.

"Hey, Phineas. *Yawn* Watchadoin'…out so late?"

"Going on a little adventure!" He replied in an excited whisper. "Get dressed and come outside!"

Isabella leaned her elbow on the windowsill. "But Phineas…It's almost midnight."

"Exactly! We don't have a lot of time! Hurry up and get dressed. And grab a jacket, it's cold out."

Isabella smiled. That's her Phineas, always looking out for her. "Alright. Give me a few minutes."

"Don't take too long," Phineas urged, looking at his watch.

"Okay." She slid the window back down.

Isabella quickly changed out of her pajamas into a t-shirt and a pair of jeans. (There wasn't really any point in getting dressed up this late at night.) She pulled on socks and sneakers, then grabbed her light purple sweatshirt as she headed out the door, quietly pulling it closed behind her. She was greeted by a gentle October breeze.

Phineas had crossed the street and was standing by the open passenger door of his Ford Torino, which was parked on the curb in front of his house as usual.

"Thank you, Phineas," Isabella said as she climbed in. Phineas quickly closed her door for her and ran around to climb into the driver's seat. "So," she began as he started the engine, "where are you taking me?"

The engine roared to life and Phineas spared her a quick glance before he put the car in gear. "Now where would the fun in telling you be?" He pulled away from the curb slowly, trying not rev the engine and wake the neighbors. "If I told you, then that would ruin the adventure."

"You have a point there."

When they reached more major roads, Phineas accelerated hard. Isabella thought that he was driving faster and slightly more recklessly than usual, and he looked repeatedly at the clock on the dashboard. Fortunately, there was barely any traffic this late at night.

They headed for the outskirts of Danville, following a long, winding two-lane blacktop called Old Mill Road. At some point, on a stretch of straight road, Phineas started slowing down, and he had his right blinker on.

"Where are you going?" Isabella asked. "There's no intersection up here."

"Oh, but there is."

Phineas turned the car. There, nearly hidden by the brush, between a large dogwood tree and a northern Dutch Elm was a perfect path through the woods. It wasn't really a road, just pathway where tire tracks led the way between the trees.

The Torino bounced over the shoulder and Phineas threaded the car between the trees.

"I didn't even know this was here," Isabella said.

"As far as I know, Ferb and I are the only ones who know about this place."

The car bounced roughly over the uneven ground. Phineas drove slowly, but he and Isabella were still jostled around hard.

"Oof! This is not really the right vehicle for off-roading," Isabella groaned.

"I know. I should do something about that. I bet I could make a computer-controlled suspension with ideal settings for various driving surfaces…but not today."

When they had gone about a mile into the woods, Phineas stopped the car. He looked at the clock on the dash one last time before he turned off the engine. "Ooh, I hope we didn't miss it."

"Miss what?"

Phineas didn't answer. He climbed out of the car and Isabella followed. When she walked around the front of the Torino to join him, Phineas appeared to be listening very intently to something that Isabella couldn't hear.

He suddenly grabbed her hand and dragged her further into the woods. "Hurry up! I hear it coming!"

"Hear what coming?"

Phineas didn't reply. He towed Isabella through the woods, left and right through the trees, pushing branches out of the way and hopping over rocks and logs.

The woods abruptly ended, and Phineas and Isabella spilled out into a tiny clearing, which turned out to be on the side of a mountain. The ground slopped steeply down a few yards away and more trees grew there. It gave an incredible view of a the low west peak of Danville Mountain, just three hundred yards or so away. The sky was perfectly clear, and this far from city lights, the stars sparkled and the moon shone brightly.

"Wow!" Isabella breathed. "Phineas, this is incredible!"

He was looking out toward the low mountain, which was really more like a high, steep hill, as if searching for something. He looked away just long enough to smile at Isabella. "It sure is, isn't it?"

"I don't think I've ever seen so many stars!"

Phineas guided her to a large rock, the only feature in the clearing, and they sat down on it. He pointed. "See out there?" He pointed at the side of the mountain in front of them. Isabella followed his direction. "See that line in the trees?" Phineas traced his finger across the mountain with his finger from left to right. In the thick trees that covered the entire mountain, there was a noticeable line where nothing grew.

"Yes, I see it."

"There's a ledge on the side of the mountain there. Just watch it, over this way." He pointed to the left.

"Okay."

Just a few seconds passed before a previously unheard sound echoed through the valley between the two hills. It was an air horn, low and lonesome: Two long blasts followed by a short one. A moment after that, a far-off growling sound was heard, not unlike a diesel engine, but it was definitely not a truck.

From the side of the mountain, a bright light cut through the trees and caught Isabella's eye. The direction of the light turned as it's source came around the corner of the mountain. It was a dark yellow diesel locomotive…no, two…no, three…no, four of them.

"It's the night train," Phineas said simply.

Four SD90-MAC's, each 80 feet long and painted in the Union Pacific colors, wound their way around the side of the mountain, a long consist of old boxcars in tow. The locomotives struggled up the light grade, moving slowly through the trees.

The string of old boxcars, from all different road names and painted all different colors, ground slightly on the curves and clacked over the tiny gaps between each individual rail.

"Remember the guy I bought the Torino from? You know, when it was still a rusted out hulk?" Phineas asked.

"Steve? Vaguely."

"He works for the Union Pacific Railroad now. He's operating that train."

Isabella nodded. "I wish I'd brought my camera. It's so pretty here, and the train just seems to fit perfectly into the scenery."

"Remember what I told Irving when that eel stole his camera?" Phineas asked.

"The greatest camera ever made is the human mind. I remember."

They watched the train wind its way around the mountain. When the locomotives disappeared from sight around the other side, the boxcars were still coming. It seemed like an endless line, like the train would go on forever.

"Phineas?"

"Yes?"

"I'm cold."

Phineas put his arm around her and pulled her in close. She put her head on his shoulder and wrapped an arm around his back.

"Better?"

"Much." Isabella sighed happily. "I hope this moment never ends."

"Me too." Phineas gave her a light kiss on the forehead.

It wasn't until ten minutes later that the last boxcar appeared around the side of the hill. It's allegiance was with the defunct Conrail Railroad, and it was painted dark blue. Five minutes later, the blinking red light attached to the back of the old boxcar disappeared around the bend and the train was gone.

Phineas and Isabella sat for a while longer, neither wanting to relinquish their grip on the other. They looked out over the mountain at the stars, both wishing that morning would never come. But eventually, Phineas looked at his watch.

"It's almost three. I'd better get you back home."

Isabella only tightened her grip on Phineas and tried to bury her head under his arm. "I don't want to leave."

"Me neither. But if we aren't both back in bed when the sun comes up, we'll both be in trouble."

Isabella raised her head to look at Phineas. "Okay. But I'm not leaving without a kiss."

"I think I can arrange that."

Phineas put his lips against Isabella's, pulling her closer to him until there was no longer any space between their bodies. When they reluctantly pulled apart, Phineas helped Isabella to her feet and gave her a hug. She nuzzled against his neck, her soft hair brushing against his chin.

"I love you, Phineas."

"I love you, too, Isabella."

Phineas took her by the hand and they walked back to the Torino.

"I don't think I needed the camera," Isabella said. "I'll never forget this moment with you."

"See? I told you."

**I could not come up with an ending for this one, so it just kinda abruptly stops. Sorry.**

**Whadya think? Does this work? I'm not sure if this one is any good.**


	10. Godspeed

**Good Lord, man! 2,500 views and 19 followers! This has me way more excited than I think any normal person should be…**

**Anyway, here's my next installment. I got the idea for this story from Clive Cussler books. A similar scenario happens in both ****_Raise the Titanic_**** and ****_Poseidon's Arrow_****. (But, you know, without the romance.) Also, the gang is fifteen.**

**Enjoy and please review!**

**P.S. I could not find a place for the 1970 Ford Torino in this one. I know you're all deeply disappointed, but I hope you'll read anyway.**

_Godspeed_

"Okay, gang!" Phineas began in the way he usually did, "You all know why we're here, but the readers don't, so I'm going to explain it again."

"Whatever floats your boat, dude," Buford said.

"Ha, ha! That is funny," Baljeet laughed, "because we are actually standing on a boat."

"Actually, we are standing on a _ship_," Ferb corrected from inside the pilothouse as he gave the engines full reverse until the ship slowly came to a stop. The ship was a fifty-four foot cargo ship named the _Torino_ that Phineas and Ferb had repurposed as a research vessel.

Baljeet rolled his eyes. Phineas took no notice and began his explanation. "We're here between Japan and Australia over the Mariana Trench, the deepest part of the ocean and the lowest point on the earth's crust to look for undiscovered marine life."

Ferb left the pilothouse and strolled over to a deck mounted control panel. He moved the joysticks around, guiding a boom crane over the center of the deck. The boom's cradle held a compact submarine.

"Using this little submarine, two of us will travel to the bottom of the trench and use the special species sonar, or Triple S, to search for un-catalogued fish, arthropods, cephalopods, and the like."

The front half of the sub was a giant acrylic bubble, super strong against the crushing depths of the ocean. It was just large enough for two seats and the myriad of control panels that would control the sub's direction and the external robotic arms. Huge lights pointed forward for illumination, half of them regular white LED's and the others a mixture of red and blue. The colored lights were for viewing skittish sea creatures that may be frightened by white lights, since many deep sea fish can't see red and blue. The back half of the sub was rectangular and capped off with two screws for propulsion, each about two and a half feet in diameter.

"Ferb will monitor everything from up here on the ship and track us for quick extraction. I'll pilot the sub. Who wants to come with me and work the rest of the controls?"

"I am claustrophobic, so I will pass," Baljeet declined. "I will stay up here and monitor the video screens with Ferb."

"Okay," Phineas said, "How about you, Buford?"

"I think I would be a hindrance. Every time I go in the ocean, giant squids show up. And, of course those aren't undiscovered."

"Of course."

"I'll stay up here and count the seagulls circling the boat."

"Um, okay. So, Isabella, would you like to come with me?"

Isabella had been sitting quietly on a crate on the deck. Lately she had been feeling particularly depressed about Phineas's obliviousness. She almost hadn't come today. When Phineas asked if she wanted to dive with him and the opportunity for alone time with the boy she loved presented itself, she immediately jumped up excitedly. "YES! I mean, sure, I got your back, Phineas."

"Great!" Phineas said with his usual grin. "Let's get the batteries off the charger and get this expedition started!"

* * *

The little sub touched the surface of the water off the starboard side of the _Torino_ and Ferb released the clamp on the boom cradle. There was a little bit of a splash as the sub sank up to the empty ballast tanks. Buford slid the gang plank out to the sub.

"Okay, guys, we'll see you in a three hours," Phineas said with a wave.

"Godspeed, Phineas and Isabella," Baljeet called.

"Thanks, Baljeet," Isabella returned. Then to Phineas, "Does this ship have a name?"

"Hmm…it doesn't. And, just for the record, submarines are boats."

"Why don't we call it the _Godspeed_?" Buford suggested. "Like Baljeet just said?"

"You do realize that the _Godspeed _was the name of one of the Virginia Company's ships? You know, the exploring team that founded the Jamestown Colony?"

"I like it," Phineas said.

"Me too," Isabella agreed.

"The _Godspeed _it is!" Buford cried.

The two deep sea explorers turned to the gangplank. Isabella jumped when Phineas touched her hand.  
"You okay?" Phineas asked.

"Yeah, yeah. Just…excited is all."

"Me too." He reached down again and firmly grasped Isabella's hand. "Hold on to me. The gang plank is really narrow, and slippery, and the sea is a little rough…I'm rambling, aren't I?"

Isabella laughed. "A little."

"Sorry. Okay, just follow me." Phineas led Isabella slowly down the gangplank. He did not let go when they stepped onto the deck of the submarine. He didn't let go as he opened the hatch, and he still didn't let go as Isabella climbed down inside the little craft. Only when she was safely inside did Phineas let go. He dropped down inside himself and closed the waterproof hatch.

Isabella was already sitting in her co-pilot's chair when Phineas joined her in the cockpit.

"Comfortable?" Phineas asked as he took his seat.

"Little bit cramped," Isabella groaned as she shifted in her seat. "And it's _really_ hot in here."

"Well, it is summer, and we are near the equator. Besides," Phineas said as he tested the controls, "it's going to be extremely cold at the bottom of the ocean." Phineas punched the radio that connected him to Ferb in the pilothouse. "Controls are all good, Ferb."

_"You're all clear. You may dive when ready."_

Phineas turned to Isabella and smiled. "Ready?"

She nodded. "Ready."

"Great! Let's get our extremeophile on!"

Phineas flooded the ballast tanks with sea water, and the little craft sank slowly below the waves. Descending straight down, it wasn't long before Isabella began to rub her arms for warmth.

"Brr. You weren't kidding when you said it would get cold."

"Oh, don't worry, it's gonna get colder."

"I wish I'd brought a sweatshirt."

Five minutes later, Isabella was struggling not to shiver. "Didn't you guys put a heater in this thing?"

"We wanted to, but it would just fog up the glass. Well, it's technically not glass. It would fog up the viewport, I guess…I'm rambling again, aren't I?"

"Yes. Yes you are."

The sub continued descending for another ten minutes.

"How deep did you say this trench was?"

"About six and three-quarter miles or so," Phineas answered, checking the depth gauge.

"Oh, goody."

"Just remember: No one can hear you scream under underwater."

"Don't you mean space?"

"But we're not in space."

"But…never mind."

Finally, after nearly half an hour of descending, the lights revealed the bottom of the ocean. Phineas jettisoned some of the water from the ballast tanks and the sub hovered a few feet above the sea floor.

"B-boy. Th-that took-k a w-while," Isabella shivered.

"Are you okay, Isabella?"

"J-just a little c-cold." She rubbed her arms vigorously, trying to restore some heat to her frigid limbs.

"Alright then. Fire up your Triple S display."

Isabella pointed to Phineas's control panel. "But…d-don't you h-have it on y-yours?"

"No, that's the regular sonar for navigation. The Species Sonar is on your panel."

"Oh. Okay." Isabella flicked a toggle switch and the screen flickered a few times before turning on. A grid appeared with the _Godspeed_ at the center. The sweep pivoted around the representation of the sub.

"I'm n-not s-s-seeing anyt-thing yet."

"Well, there's not a whole lot down here, so…it might take a while." Phineas clutched the control yoke, which was much like the one you'd find in an airplane, and pushed it forward. The dual electric motors spun the screws and pushed the sub forward.

_"See anything down there?" _Baljeet asked through the radio.

"Just water and sand and rocks," Phineas answered.

He banked the _Godspeed_ starboard around an outcropping of rock, and then to port around a rise.

"Ok-kay, I'd-d app-preciate it-t if-f-f you'd k-keep-p the sub l-level-l," Isabella said. "I'm alr-ready-dy c-cold, I don't-t n-need-d m-motion sickn-ness, t-too."

"Sorry."

* * *

Isabella held her head against her chest, hugging her knees, watching the sonar sweep travel around the screen. "Ph-Ph-Phineas…we've b-been d-down her-re for t-two hours and-d haven't-t seen a th-thing. S-sorry, b-but this isn't-t the m-most ex-xciting idea you've ever h-had."

"Well, life down here is few and far between. That's why certain creatures that call this desolate seascape home have to find untraditional ways of finding food, or mating-"

"M-mating?"

"Sure. Take the angler fish, for instance." Phineas adjusted the balance in the ballast tanks before continuing. "One of the few creatures in the animal kingdom that mates for life, but not in the way you might think. The male angler fish actually physically attaches itself to the female parasitically."

"P-paras-sitically?"

"Yup. The female provides the male with nutrients and the male provides a supply of reproductive material for the rest of their lives so that neither has to search the vast empty blackness of the deep ocean for a mate."

"You don't know the first thing about vast empty blackness when it comes to mating…" Isabella mumbled under her breath.

"I'm sorry?"

"Nothing."

Suddenly a blip appeared on the edge of the Triple S screen. "Hey, I've g-got s-something!" Isabella cried. "Dead ahead!"

"I'm on it!" Phineas yelled. He pushed the control yoke in against its stop and the _Godspeed_ shot forward.

"It's bearing two degrees west!" Isabella relayed.

Phineas gently turned, trying not to bank the sub too much. He keyed the radio. "Hey, guys, we're on to something!"

_"Finally!" _Baljeet answered. _"It is so boring up here in the middle of the ocean. Whatever you do, do not lose it!"_

"Trying!" Then to Isabella: "Are we gaining?"

Isabella's eyes widened as the blip grew closer to the sub. "Uh…Phineas? I'm not sure that we _want_ to be gaining on this thing."

"What makes you say that?"

"It's big. Like, really big."

"Uh, how big is 'really big?'"

"Like, big enough to easily swallow this submarine and have enough room left for a U.S. Navy destroyer."

Phineas hauled back on the yoke, reversing the engines. The electric motors whined as they strained to stop the sub's momentum. "That makes me nervous." He tapped the radio button. "Baljeet, we're breaking pursuit!"

_"Why?!"_

"Because whatever it is, it's big. Big enough to warrant an emergency extraction before it eats us. We're coming up."

_"You know, some of the biggest things alive on earth today are harmless. Blue whales, whale sharks, basking sharks…"_

Phineas stopped for a moment. "You know what? You're right. Maybe I reacted too soon." He turned to Isabella. "Whadya say? Shall we investigate?"

Isabella's eyes were locked on the Triple S screen. "Um, Phineas, we're not moving, right?"

"Right."

"So why is this blip getting closer?"

Phineas leaned over and looked at the screen. "That's because it's swimming straight at us."

"What's this large number here?" Isabella pointed at a dialogue box trained on the huge blip.

It was Phineas's turn to widen his eyes in surprise. "That is the speed it's moving at!"

Phineas grabbed the control yoke and hauled it around, turning the sub on a dime and accelerating away. _"Baljeet! Ferb! Prepare for emergency extraction!"_

"On it."

Phineas quickly jettisoned the ballast tanks, and the sub began to rise.

"Phineas!"

Isabella was pointing out the viewport. Something was _reaching _up from the seafloor toward the sub.

"EVASIVE MANEUVERS!" Phineas yelled and hauled the yoke to starboard. Before the sub even had a chance to move, something huge collided with the hull. The _Godspeed _tumbled away through the water at a much greater speed than the motors could ever attain.

Phineas wrestled with the yoke trying desperately to bring the sub back under control while warning lights lit up the control panel like a Christmas tree. Phineas finally managed to turn the sub right side up, but now there was a new problem.

"The entire hydraulic system is down," Phineas said with panic. "I can't control the valves to the ballast tanks! They're flooding! We're going down!" He turned to Isabella, her face just as much contorted in fear as his. "I'd say 'abandon ship' but if we leave the sub, the pressure will instantly crush us to death."

"So what do we do?"

Phineas looked at the depth gauge. They were thirty feet off the bottom and falling fast. He quickly pressed a button on the control panel and a section of the floor opened up into the cabin. An inflatable mattress meant as a crash blew up under it, covering the floor. "Quick, onto the cushion!"

Isabella hesitated while Phineas dove to the floor. The depth gauge read 15ft.

"Hurry!" Phineas yelled.

When Isabella still didn't move, Phineas grabbed her hand and pulled her to the floor beside him. "Phineas!" Phineas wrapped his arms around her protectively.

The _Godspeed_ jolted when it crashed to the ocean floor. The lights in the cockpit blinked out, plunging the two occupants into darkness.

* * *

When Isabella opened her eyes, she was unsure whether or not she was actually awake. It was so dark inside the submarine that she might as well have had her eyes closed. She shifted her body and felt a fiery pain shoot through her side.

"Phineas?" she whispered. There was no response, but she could feel the weight of Phineas's arm on her other side. "Phineas?" she said louder.

There was a moan and she shifted again, trying to jolt Phineas awake, but every move she made shot pain through her side. "Phineas!"

"Isabella?"

"Phineas!"

"Isabella, are you okay?"

"I don't think so. My side really hurts. I think I broke a rib or two."

"Hold on a second. I'm going to stand up. Which side hurts?"

"My right side." She was lying with her right side against crash pad on the floor of the cabin.

"Okay."

Phineas brought himself to a kneeling position while trying not to move Isabella. When he could, he helped Isabella roll slowly to her back to take the weight off of her injured side.

"Ow!" Isabella groaned. "Phineas, I think I'm starting to panic."

"Hang on. I'm just gonna try and get the lights on," Phineas said. "Don't panic yet." Feeling his way around the cockpit, Phineas found his way to his seat. He groped around under the control panel until he found a switch near the back. "Hopefully, the backup power still works."

Phineas hit the switch. Nothing happened.

"Okay, now you can panic," Phineas told Isabella. He reached for a small compartment beside his seat and groped around inside until he found a little flashlight. The flashlight dimly lit the cockpit, but at least they could see.

Phineas made his way carefully over to Isabella's side. She was shaking uncontrollably in the dark. "Ph-Phin-neas? W-what-t-?"

"Shhh, Don't talk." Phineas reached for Isabella's shirt.

"W-What-t are y-you d-doing?"

"Checking your side," Phineas said, lifting the hem up to her chest. His hand brushed against her bare skin.

"AH!"

"What's wrong?" Phineas looked panicked.

"Your hands are cold!"

Phineas smiled. "Sorry." He gently felt up and down Isabella's side. "No doubt about it. You've got at least two, maybe three broken ribs."

"W-well…c-could b-be w-worse…at l-least th-the sub s-stayed in one p-p-piece."

"Good point. Even a pin hole of a opening would flood this thing in just a couple minutes."

There was an awkward pause before Isabella spoke up again. "What do you think that thing was that hit us?"

"I don't know, and I'm not sure I want to find out," Phineas replied. "I sure hope Ferb, Buford, and Baljeet are looking for us. That creature is the least of our worries now. With the life-support down, we'll run out of oxygen in here in an hour or two." Phineas's eyes drooped. "Actually, with no power, our homing beacon is off, too. Ferb is going to have a hard time tracking us. And, of course, no radio either."

Isabella tried to smile reassuringly. "I have f-faith in F-F-Ferb. He'll f-find us-s."

Phineas laid down on his back next to Isabella. She twisted her head to look at him, but he didn't notice.

_I do have faith in Ferb,_ she thought, _but the chances of us being rescued are pretty bleak. We're over 6 miles under water. _

_This might be my last chance…_

"Ph-Phineas?"

"Yes?"

"I'm s-still f-freezing. W-Would you m-mind if we…"

Before Isabella could finish her sentence, Phineas shifted onto his side. Taking great care not to disturb her injured ribs, he curled his body to hers, wrapping his arms gently around her neck.

"Th-thank you, Ph-Phineas."

"No problem. Do you mind if I turn off the flashlight? We should conserve the battery, plus the light might attract sea life."

"G-go ahead." She felt a little warmer already.

"You're sure? I don't want you to feel uncomfortable."

"Why w-would I feel uncomfortable? I've g-got you here. I've never felt s-safer."

"Really?"

_Oops. That might have been a little too much. _"Um…sure. Turn the light off."

Phineas turned off the little flashlight and stuck it in his pocket so as not to lose it.

Isabella's mind started turning over in her head. _Last chance…could be…_

"Just…" she hesitated. "Don't let go."

Phineas tightened his grip just slightly. "I won't."

* * *

Phineas briefly clicked on the flashlight and aimed it at his watch. It had been close to fifty minutes since the _Godspeed_ had lost power. He could already feel the air becoming stuffy from the lack of oxygen.

He flicked off the light. "How you doing, Isabella?"

"I'm good. You know, as good as one can be in our situation."

Phineas pulled Isabella a little closer. He was cold, too, and hoped that pulling her closer would benefit both of them.

Isabella felt Phineas pull her in to him. The way he held her, so gently with great care not to jostle her ribs…she felt like she was being held by an angel.

Phineas buried the side of his face into Isabella's following hair. For reasons he could not explain, her hair was not cold. It was warm…and very soft, he noticed.

Isabella felt Phineas nuzzle into her hair, just the way she always imagined he would. She was starting to think that it wouldn't be so bad if they didn't get rescued.

_I have to tell him. We might never get out of here._

Isabella opened her mouth, but to her surprise, Phineas spoke first. "Isabella…I'm really sorry about all this."

"Oh, Phineas, it's okay."

"No, it's not okay. I got you hurt. You're my best friend, and I could have gotten you killed. And…I'd say there's a pretty good chance that we're both going to die…"

"Phineas, stop talking."

"But I-"

Isabella reached over to where she thought his face was to cover his mouth. Instead, she managed to jab him in the eye.

"OW!"

"Sorry!"

Phineas rubbed his eye. "It's okay."

"That's what I'm telling you," Isabella said, "Phineas, I could never be mad at you. I don't care if you got me trapped in the deepest part of the ocean. You are _my_ best friend, and best friends forgive each other."

Phineas sighed. "I just don't think I can forgive myself."

Isabella thought for a moment. She had to tell him now. But, she didn't think words would suffice. He was too oblivious for words to effect.

"Phineas, give me the flashlight."

"Here." Phineas put the flashlight on her stomach so she could feel it and find it more easily.

Isabella grabbed it and flicked it on. The cabin was flooded with the dim light. Her intentions were simple: Kiss Phineas. Full on the lips.

That idea was quickly nixed when she tried to move and searing pain shot through her side. "OW!"

"Isabella, don't try to move," Phineas said. "What do you need? I'll do it for you."

_Hmm…I guess that works._ "Phineas…I want you to kiss me."

Phineas was obviously very surprised. "What?"

"Kiss me. I want you to kiss me."

"Why?"

"Just do it. Please?"

"Umm…okay, I guess."

Phineas sat up and turned over onto his hands and knees. He leaned over Isabella and kissed her on the cheek.

"No, Phineas. On the lips."

"On the…lips?"

"Yes."

Phineas very slowly moved toward Isabella's slightly puckered lips. With great hesitation he gently pressed his lips against hers.

The instant that Phineas touched Isabella's lips, fireworks exploded in his subconscious. He had never felt such euphoria, and he had no idea where it came from. Suddenly scared, he backed off and took a very deep breath.

The two of them didn't move. Phineas looked into Isabella's eyes and Isabella looked into Phineas's. They just stared at each other, both breathing heavily from the lack of oxygen.

When Isabella felt like she had caught her breath, she reached up and pulled Phineas back down until their lips touched again. With all the passion she could muster while injured and lightheaded, she kissed Phineas.

The second kiss seamed to last forever. When they finally broke apart, Isabella had lost all feeling of cold. So, too, had Phineas. As they stared at each other again until Isabella finally spoke.

"I love you, Phineas. I always have. I want you to know that incase we…don't make it."

"I-I-I don't know what to say…" Phineas stuttered. After he thought about it for just a moment, he said, "…Except, maybe…that was incredible."

Isabella beamed.

"That was the most incredible feeling I've ever had in my life!"

"You want to do it again?"

"Yes, yes I do."

"Well, come here," Isabella said.

Phineas laid back down next to Isabella and held her close again. They turned their heads to the side to face each other, and as they pressed their lips against the other's again, Isabella turned off the flashlight.

* * *

The _Godspeed_ broke the surface of the water two dozen yards away from the _Torino_. Ferb steered the research ship closer and switched to the deck controls to attach the cradle from the boom crane. With the sub secured, Buford pushed out the gangplank and the three boys rushed out to the tiny deck of the adjoining sub.

Buford got there first. He quickly spun the lock for the watertight hatch and pulled it open. Ferb squeezed past him and dropped down into the cabin of the _Godspeed. _He found Phineas and Isabella, their arms wrapped around each other, unconscious on the floor of the cockpit on the inflatable crash cushion. They had blacked out from the lack of oxygen.

"I need help!" Ferb called up. "We have to get these two to med bay, quickly!"

* * *

Phineas awoke in the _Torino_'s med bay. He had an oxygen mask over his face and was breathing heavily. He slowly sat up and pulled off the mask. "Hello? Ferb? Anyone?"

The only thing Phineas heard in reply to his call was a moan. Next to his bunk was another, and Isabella lay in it. She, too, wore an oxygen mask and had a large splint tied around her side.

Phineas jumped out of his bunk and rushed to her side. "Isabella?" He shook her shoulder gently. "Isabella?"

Isabella moaned again and opened her eyes. She smiled at the sight of Phineas standing next to her. "Hi, Phineas," she said through the oxygen mask.

"Hi, Isabella."

They stared at each other for a few seconds, and then Phineas suddenly darted out of the med bay. He'd panicked.

Isabella's heart sank.

* * *

The _Torino _cut through the light waves with ease as Ferb steered for the Panama canal. The ship could make the voyage from Danville to the coast of Japan in about five hours not including the trip through the Panama canal, which took eight hours to travel through.

Phineas joined Ferb on the bridge. "How goes it, Captain Ferb?"

Ferb gave a thumbs up. Phineas sat down in a chair in the corner.

"So?" Ferb asked, not averting his eyes from the sea ahead.

"What?" Phineas replied, not understanding.

"What happened down there?"

"Well, this thing we were tracking charged and-"

"Not that. I know that. What happened with you and Isabella?"

"Oh." Phineas wasn't really sure he wanted to share. "She, uh…she asked me to kiss her."

Ferb smirked and raised an eyebrow. "Did she, now?"

"Yup." Phineas didn't offer anything else.

Ferb had been watching Isabella, too. She had been standing on the ship's bow staring out the sea flying past for the last hour. He assumed Phineas didn't know she was out there.

"You haven't talked to her?" Ferb asked.

"No. I panicked. I didn't know what to say, so I left." He stood up and joined Ferb at the wheel. He noticed Isabella leaning on the bow railing, her hair blowing straight out behind her from the high wind. Phineas sighed. "I feel really bad, but…everything happened so fast down there…I didn't want to say the wrong thing."

Ferb looked at his brother. "You need to talk to her."

"I know."

Phineas left the bridge and wound his way down to the deck.

"Hi…Isabella."

Isabella turned around, her eyes low. "Hi Phineas."

Phineas nervously rubbed the back of his neck. "I, uh…I wanted to talk to you…about what happened."

"You don't love me, do you?" Isabella said slowly.

"Isabella, I…it just happened really fast. I didn't want to say the wrong thing in the sick bay, so I left. I've never done this before."

Isabella leaned back against the rail. "I can't argue with that. I know it's true."

Phineas leaned next to her and took a deep breath. "The truth is, I panicked. I don't want to lose your friendship, but now…I also really want to be more than just friends."

Isabella jumped up, a smile growing on her face. "Really?!"

"Yes, really."

Isabella threw her arms around Phineas and squeezed until her side hurt. She looked into Phineas's eyes. She was afraid to say it again for fear that she might push Phineas away, but she decided to take the risk. "I love you, Phineas."

And to the surprise of both of them, Phineas did not hesitate at all before saying, "I love you, too, Isabella."

Isabella squealed a little bit and pulled Phineas to her lips. They kissed as Ferb cut the throttle and the boat coasted toward the entrance to the Panama canal.

**I am just not good at coming up with endings. They always sound forced to me.**

**Hope you all liked this one! It was a little different.**


	11. Water

Water

**This is a songfic for "Water" by Brad Paisley. However, as those of you who have heard the song know, it is not a love song. (Well, not a love song to a girl, anyway.) This is a Phineabella fic, though, so I had to get creative to make this work. Brace yourselves: This is going to be cute, and then kinda hot, and then cute again.**

_Age 3_

Lawrence was red in the face and panting hard, but he gave one last puff before capping off the rubber valve on the inflatable wading pool. Still breathing heavily, he grabbed the garden hose and began to fill the pool.

Lawrence turned when he heard the sliding glass door open. Linda stood there holding Ferb. Phineas and Isabella stood beside her, dressed in their bathing suits.

"Aw, you kids look adorable," Lawrence said with a smile. "Why isn't Ferb ready?"

"Oh, he threw a little fit and decided he didn't want to go in the pool," Linda said of the three year old she held. She shrugged. "What are you gonna do?" She set him down and turned around to head back into the house. "Vivian and I are off to the mall. Thanks again for watching the kids today, Honey."

"No problem, Love! Have a good time!" Lawrence bent down to Phineas and Isabella's level and smiled. "Are you kids ready to go in the pool?"

"Yes, Daddy!" Phineas said excitedly. Isabella just nodded nervously. She was slightly scared of Lawrence for reasons no one could quite figure out. Of course, she had only met him a handful of times.

"Okay, I hope you have lots of fun!" Lawrence turned off the hose and coiled it up. "Go on!"

"Yay!" Phineas cried out as he took off running for the little kiddie pool. Isabella shuffled her bare feet on the ground, but didn't move.

Phineas climbed over the side of the pool, falling into the water on the other side. "Ha ha!" he laughed as he splashed at nothing. He suddenly realized that he was alone. He stood up and looked back at Isabella, who was still standing by the door, looking very shy. "Aren'tcha comin' in, Isabella?" Phineas asked his recently acquired friend.

"Maybe."

Phineas climbed out of the pool. Lawrence was playing with Ferb on the ground a little ways away. Phineas walked over to Isabella. "Come on! It's fun! And I can't play all by myself."

"I don't know," she said looking away. She felt something warm and slightly damp touch her hand. Phineas was holding it.

"Please?" Phineas begged.

Isabella smiled and wrapped her little fingers around Phineas's. "Okay."

"Yay!" Phineas dragged her back to the pool and they clambered awkwardly over the side.

Isabella stood in the knee-deep water, afraid to get anymore wet than that. Phineas, meanwhile, splashed around, kicking at the water with his feet. He stopped and looked at Isabella again. "You gotta splash!" he said.

"No, I don't think so," she said, looking rather nervous again.

"But you gotta! It's more fun when you splash! Watch!" Phineas sat down in the water and smacked his hands against the water. Isabella shrieked and retracted as the water splashed her. "See?" Phineas asked, completely oblivious to Isabella's scream.

Isabella looked at him for a moment, then gently stirred the water with her foot, creating waves.

Phineas stood up. "Like this." He kicked at the water again and a little water splashed over the side.

Isabella looked at Phineas again. He was a little pushy, but she decided she liked him anyway. "Like this?" She asked. She turned sideways and kicked the water at Phineas. He laughed as the shower hit him.

"Yeah! Just like this!" He kicked the water back and drenched Isabella.

"Hey!" She pushed him down. He fell into the water, his giant nose not even submerging. As he picked himself up, Isabella drooped her eyes again. She felt bad. "Sorry," she said, extending a hand to help Phineas up.

Phineas took hold of her hand…and pulled her down into the water.

"Eee!" Isabella shrieked again as she fell. She sat up and splashed at Phineas. He splashed back. They laughed together.

Lawrence appeared at the side of the pool. "You kids having fun?" he asked.

They didn't reply. They were too busy laughing and trying to drench each other.

Lawrence smiled. "I thought so."

* * *

_Age 10_

Buford took a running leap and grabbed the long rope, swinging out from the bank and letting go. It was quite a drop to the water even without the swing, and the splash he created was tremendous.

He resurfaced and looked back to his friends on the bank, at least ten feet above him. "Whoo hoo! That was awesome! Come on, guys!"

Phineas, Ferb, Isabella, and Baljeet looked warily at the rope swing. It was tied to a sturdy limb and the rope was thick enough to support three people, but it couldn't be reached from the bank. You had to jump about three feet off the bank to grab it, and if you missed, you would crash into the bottom of the slope at the water's edge. "This does not look particularly safe," Baljeet observed.

"I don't know," Phineas said. "What do you think, Ferb?"

Ferb didn't answer. He took off running and grabbed the rope, swinging out even further than Buford. He did a perfect swan dive into the Danville River.

"Nice one, Ferb!" Buford said, hi-fiving the Brit while treading water. "Come on, Dinner Bell!" he yelled back. "I know you aren't a wuss like Girly and Baljeet."

"Hey!" Isabella shot back.

Baljeet just shrugged. "I know, I am a…wuss, as you say." He walked down the bank a ways to where he could wade in and swam back to Buford and Ferb. Buford promptly dunked him.

Phineas, meanwhile, considered the rope swing. "Hmmm…yeah, I guess I'll give it a shot." He took a running stance and bolted forward, grabbing the rope and swinging out over the water. He landed feet first and sank to the bottom. He pushed off with his legs and broke the surface like a spring.

"Smooth, Phineas," Buford said, unimpressed. Once again, he turned to the bank. "Well? You coming in, Girly?"

Phineas elbowed him. "She has a name, you know."

Buford raised his hands mockingly. "Oh, sor_ry_! Are you a wuss or not, _Isabella_?"

She looked over the edge. "If I miss, I'll land right on the bank down there. I'll break my leg."

"Come on, Isabella!" Phineas said cheerfully, swimming closer. "It's easy!"

"I don't know…"

Phineas climbed up the steep bank, not an easy feat. When he reached the top, he walked over to Isabella. He whispered to her. "Do you want to do it?"

"Yes. I'm just a little apprehensive. Ever since Adyson broke her arm last week, I've been a little nervous to do anything particularly…risky."

"You don't have to be scared." Phineas took Isabella's hand. She looked at him, surprised. Phineas smiled at her. "Come on," he said, "We'll do it together."

She looked into his eyes for a moment, then smiled. "Okay."

He pulled her arm around his neck. "Just hold on to me and jump. I'll do the rest." They took a few steps back. "Ready?"

Isabella intertwined her fingers so she wouldn't lose her hold on Phineas. "Ready."

"Okay, on three. One, two, three!" They took off running, which was kind of difficult with Isabella hanging onto Phineas beside her. They nearly tripped over each other's feet, but they kept going. "Here we go!" Phineas yelled as they reached the edge of the bank. They both pushed off with their feet and Phineas grabbed the rope, hanging on for dear life as Isabella's weight suddenly choked his breath out. They swung out until Phineas couldn't hold onto the rope anymore and fell back to earth, crashing down with enough force to rival Buford's splash.

They popped back to the surface, Phineas inhaling sharply, for the air had been knocked from his lungs. "Whew! That was…fun," he gasped.

"Yeah, it was." Isabella's voice was much closer than Phineas thought it would be, which startled him. He turned and found Isabella still hanging onto him. She blushed as he looked down at her arms around his neck and let go.

"Wanna go again?" Phineas asked.

_Not really…but…this could be the perfect excuse for holding on to Phineas!_ "Only if you go with me," Isabella said.

"Okay. Let's go!" Phineas swam toward shore and Isabella was about to follow when Buford grabbed her shoulder.

"We all know what you're doing," the bully said under his breath. Ferb and Baljeet were smirking at her. Buford leaned a little closer. "Go get 'em."

Isabella grinned. "Thanks, guys." And she followed Phineas to shore.

* * *

_Age 18_

"Thanks for inviting us to come down here, Steve," Phineas said as he and Ferb followed walked with Steve through the infield at Daytona International Speedway.

"You're welcome," Steve replied. "Racing is more fun when you have friends to party with."

"And this about looks like the party capital of America," Ferb said looking around.

"Well, for this weekend it is."

The gang's friend Steve had invited everyone to come down to Daytona on Fourth of July weekend for the Coke Zero 400. It was race day, but the race didn't start until the sun went down. For NASCAR fans camping in the track's infield, that meant it was party time.

Phineas, Ferb, and Steve wandered through the lines of tents and campers, admiring the overzealous and cheesy decorations. All around them, music blasted, barbeques sizzled, beer flowed and people laughed and cheered at the crazy partying. Some fans had busses, some set up bars, some had games, and everyone shared with everyone. A sign stating COLD FREE BEER hung next to a Dale Earnhardt flag above a huge party tent. At a campsite across the row was a black-and-white checkered stage, accentuated by a currently unoccupied stripper pole…

"People sure get into this, don't they?" Phineas asked.

"Oh yeah, the infield party before a race at Daytona is not for the faint of heart," Steve said, adjusting his Ford Racing hat. "But, it's also a lot of fun."

They turned the corner and strolled up the next row. A group of people was setting up another stage, this one much large than the last. A sign board in front of it announced:

WET T-SHIRT CONTEST

3:00 PM

ALL ARE WELCOME

GIRLS SIGN UP HERE

"Check that out," Steve said pointing, thinking about the seven girls back at their campsite. "I wonder how the girls would feel about that."

"Somehow I doubt they'd be willing to enter," Phineas said jokingly. "Except maybe Milly. She's a little…different."

Steve raised an eyebrow, then laughed. "I think you're right. But you never know what girls will do once they've got a few beers in 'em."

Phineas stopped walking and looked at the sign again. "You know, I doubt we could convince any of the girls to enter that, but it does give me an idea."

"What kind of idea?"

"One for a prank that I think Buford would be more likely to come up with." Phineas turned to Ferb. "What do we have in the blueprints for a water cannon?"

Ferb grinned.

Buford belted back another beer an belched loudly.

* * *

"Ugh, Buford, that's disgusting!" Isabella moaned.

"Oh, you girls are no fun."

"Yes, you girls are so lame," Baljeet said.

Buford looked at Baljeet, who was drinking lemonade instead of…anything with alcohol in it. "You know, you aren't much better."

Baljeet sighed. "I know."

Steve returned to the campsite, carrying a stack of white t-shirts. "I'm back! I know you're all so excited to see me!"

"I am!" Buford announced. "These girls are so boring."

"Where are Phineas and Ferb?" Ginger asked.

"That's actually why I'm here," Steve said, walking around and handing a shirt to each of them. "They told me to bring you guys these t-shirts and then follow me over to Lake Lloyd."

Gretchen held up her shirt. It was plain white aside from the NASCAR on FOX logo printed small on the front.

"Why, what's happening at Lake Lloyd?" Isabella asked.

"They're shooting something for the pre-race show over there and if you have one of these shirts you get to be on TV," Steve explained, trying hard not to laugh.

"Cool!" Buford said, holding out his hand.

"Oh, actually, the segment has something to do with female NASCAR fans, so you guys don't get one." Then he leaned closer to Buford and Baljeet, and whispered. "Trust me…you don't want one." He winked, but neither boy got the message.

The girls took turns changing their shirts in the Steve's travel trailer and then everyone, including Buford and Baljeet, followed Steve toward the Lake.

* * *

Lake Lloyd is a huge, perfectly rectangular lake in the infield of Daytona International Speedway. It was created when builders needed dirt to pile up for the 31 degrees of banking in the turns. When construction of the track was complete, there was a giant gaping hole in the infield, so it was filled with water. Boats owned by the track take fans parasailing, water skiing, and the like.

Steve led everyone to the side of the lake where Phineas stood waiting for them.

"Hey, everyone," Phineas greeted cheerfully.

"Hi, Phineas."

"So, uh, where are they shooting this thing?" Gretchen asked. "I don't see any TV cameras."

"Oh, that's because there aren't any cameras. But the shooting is happening right here."

Steve discreetly dragged Buford and Baljeet a few yards down from the others.

"How can there be shooting without cameras?" Isabella asked.

"Like this!" Phineas stood aside. The surface of the water rippled and a huge contraption rose from the lake. Ferb rode inside an acrylic bubble on top of the huge nozzle that made up the rotating water cannon. He took aim and, before the girls could even think about moving, flipped on the switch that pumped water from Lake Lloyd. In the blink of an eye, the water cannon drenched the girls to the skin, and their white t-shirts clung to their bodies, clearly revealing what was underneath.

Ferb stopped the flow of water. Buford burst out laughing. "HA HA HA! That was the greatest prank ever!"

Baljeet just gasped. Ginger was not wearing anything under her t-shirt and her chest showed clearly through. He quickly ran over to her, pulled off his own shirt, and gave it to her.

"Thanks, Baljeet," Ginger gasped as she pulled the shirt over her own.

The girls glared at Phineas and Ferb. "That wasn't funny, guys!" Isabella growled.

Phineas didn't reply. He was too busy staring wide-eyed at Isabella, who was not even making the slightest attempt to cover herself.

"You're right it wasn't funny," Buford said. "It was hilarious!" He and Steve hi-fived.

Isabella waved her hand in front of Phineas's face. "Uh, hello? Phineas?"

Phineas finally looked up at Isabella's face, a stupid grin on his face. "You're pretty."

Isabella suddenly forgot to be mad. "Really?"

"Yeah…"

Isabella grabbed Phineas and kissed him. Buford whistled and then turned to Steve. "I like NASCAR! Can we come back here every year?"

Isabella let go of Phineas and remembered to cover her chest, crossing her arms in front of her. "How was that?"

Phineas's jaw dropped. Then he said, "I agree with Buford! Let's come back every year!"

The other girls huffed. "I'm going back to change," Katie said in a huff.

"At least it was cool and refreshing," Holly said, as the rest of the girls, except Isabella, followed her.

"Well," Steve said to the boys and Isabella, "I'm glad you're having a good time."

"Yes, yes we are," Phineas said, and he pulled Isabella to him and kissed her.

"And the race isn't even for another five hours," Steve observed as he, Buford, Baljeet and Ferb left Phineas and Isabella to some privacy.

* * *

_Age 21_

Phineas and Isabella had been boyfriend/girlfriend now for three years, ever since the little incident at Daytona International Speedway.

Isabella answered the knock at the door, revealing Phineas leaning casually against the door frame. "Hi, Phineas."

"Hi, Isabella. Ready to go?"

"Always am." Isabella stepped out and closed the door behind her. "So, where are we going tonight?"

"Somewhere simple and but just as romantic as any fancy restaurant," Phineas said with a grin.

* * *

Phineas turned the Ford Torino off the main road onto a winding dirt path through the woods. The sun had already set.

"Where exactly is this place?" Isabella asked.

"You don't recognize the spot? We've been here before. Several times actually."

Through a break in the trees, Isabella spotted the light from the quarter moon reflecting off water. "Danville River?"

"Yeah."

Isabella thought for a moment. "How exactly is this a date?"

Phineas smiled. "You'll see." He stepped on the gas and the Torino shot forward out of the tree line onto a sandy beach. He slammed on the brakes, locking up the tires and causing the car to slide in the sand.

"Oof!" Isabella groaned as the seatbelt caught her. She looked at Phineas and laughed a bit. "Have you been taking driving lessons from Steve?"

Phineas didn't answer right away and he turned off the ignition. "Uh…maybe?" Isabella smiled and shook her head before climbing out of the Torino. Phineas followed.

Isabella froze. On the sand were two lawn chairs, a small table fully set for a meal, and a fire ring made from large rocks from the river. "Oh, Phineas, this looks great," she said with a sigh. "You always have the best ideas for dates."

"Thank you, Isabella," Phineas said, pulling two fishing poles from the trunk of the Torino. "And now for the interactive part of dinner."

* * *

Phineas and Isabella lay on the ground beside the blazing fire, their arms around each other. Isabella nuzzled into Phineas's neck.

"Phineas, this was the best," Isabella whispered. "I knew there was a reason I fell in love with you."

Phineas pulled her closer and looked into her eyes. "I'm glad you had fun." They stared into each other's eyes for a long time, both grinning uncontrollably.

Isabella suddenly stood. "Come on, Phineas," she said, taking a few steps toward the river.

Phineas sat up. "Where are you going?"

Isabella twirled around to answer him. "Skinny-dipping."

Phineas's eyes widened. "Really?"

"Yeah! Come on! I dare ya!" Now outside the light of the fire, only illuminated by the little sliver of moon, Isabella pulled off her shirt.

Phineas had never seen Isabella in anything less than a very generous bikini. Even the wet t-shirt incident in Daytona, she had been wearing a rather plain bra. He stared for just a moment longer, then quickly stood up and threw off his shirt. "Hey, wait up!" he called, running toward the river following the trail of clothes that Isabella had left on the sand.

By the time Phineas ran in, Isabella was already submerged up to her neck. "Come get me, Phineas!" she called playfully.

"Oh, don't think I won't!" Phineas called swimming out to meet her.

When he caught up, Phineas promptly threw his arms around Isabella's neck and kissed her passionately. "I love you, Isabella."

Isabella giggled and pushed his head under. Phineas came back up sputtering. "Cack! *cough* What was that for?"

"You were starting to get sappy, and that's not why I got you out here," Isabella laughed.

"Then why did you-?" Before Phineas could finish his sentence, Isabella took a deep breath and dove under. Phineas's eyes widened with realization and he tensed up. "-Oh. That's why."

* * *

Age 23

Phineas slid his sunglasses down on his nose and turned to face Isabella. She looked up from her book and turned to face Phineas. "What?" she asked.

Phineas smiled. "Nothing. Just admiring how beautiful you are."

"Aw, thank you, Phineas."

"You wear those sunglasses well."

She turned back to Phineas and removed her shades. "Okay, I know there's something else going on that you're not telling me."

Phineas jumped backwards in his lawn chair. "No there's not! There's nothing going on!"

"Phineas." Even though she was smiling, Isabella was glaring at Phineas. "Spill."

"I told you, there's nothing going on!"

Isabella nodded. "You're lying. But that's okay. Because I know that eventually, you'll snap. You're horrible at keeping secrets." She replaced her sunglasses and wiggled her bare toes in the calm water. She went back to her book.

Phineas looked out to the opposite bank of the Danville River. He thought about the many times that he and Isabella had been here together, both with others and alone. He gulped nervously as he considered what he was about to do, clenching his toes around a pebble.

Phineas took a deep breath and reached for his beer wedged in the sand beside his chair. He chugged down what was left in the glass bottle and placed it in the plastic bag behind the cooler with the other empties.

Phineas looked at Isabella again and quickly turned away when she caught him looking at her. Phineas slowly started to reach into his pocket, but then stopped, whipped open the cooler, grabbed another beer, uncapped it, and chugged down the entire thing. Isabella stared at him.

"Geez Louise, Phineas!" Isabella exclaimed. "Since when do you drink like that?"

"Only now. Because I'm nervous."

"About what?"  
"Oh, you'll see soon enough. Right after I built up enough courage and drink enough beer."

Isabella narrowed her eyes and closed her book. She set it on top of the cooler. "Okay, Phineas. What's going on?"

Phineas stared at her, opened his mouth as if to say something, but then grabbed Isabella's half finished beer. "Nope, haven't had enough yet." Isabella crossed her arms and watched Phineas quickly gulp down the liquor. Phineas added the empty bottle to the bag and looked back at Isabella. "Okay, I think I've had enough now."

"Phineas-"

Phineas put his hand up and Isabella stopped speaking. "Please don't. If you start talking, I might lose my courage again." He looked out to the river for a moment and was struck with an idea.

Phineas took Isabella's hand and stood up, prompting her to rise as well. He slowly walked into the water, leading Isabella in until they were about knee deep.

"Phineas, what are you-?"

Phineas moved his hands up and down as if patting the air. "Shhhh…I told you, you're gonna make me lose my nerve, and now that we're out here, I'm committed. If we go back, it'll screw up the moment."

"Okay, I'm sorry."

Phineas briefly looked around, up at the clear blue sky, at the trees and his Ford parked on the beach, at the crystal clear water of the Danville River, and finally back at the woman he loved. He took a deep breath and began.

"Isabella…You are the only woman that I have ever loved. There is no one on this planet, or any other planet, for that matter, as special to me as you. And that's why I asked you to come here today. Besides our backyard, we have more memories here than anywhere else. Plus, this was about the most romantic spot I could think of."

Isabella giggled.

"I want to keep making memories with you. And that's why we're here." Phineas took a deep breath and reached into his pocket. He knelt down in the water, it coming up to his mid chest. He held up the little box to Isabella. She gasped. Phineas opened the box, revealing a diamond ring that glittered brilliantly in the bright summer sun. "Isabella, will you marry me?"

Isabella grabbed Phineas's outstretched arm and pulled him back to his feet. She threw her arms around him and pulled him into a kiss.

"I'll take that as a yes," Phineas said. Isabella laughed and pushed him backwards into the water, plucking the ring box from between his fingers as he fell. "What was that for?" Phineas asked as he pulled himself back up.

Isabella removed the ring from the box and slipped it on. "Nothing. But we're standing in a river. You should have expected it." She admired the big diamond on her finger. "Hey, it fits perfectly!"

"Oh, good," Phineas said. "Now I don't have to worry about you losing it when I do this!" He threw his arms around her and dove for the water, taking her down with him.

They came out laughing and they kissed again. "I love you, Phineas," Isabella said with a smile.

Phineas giggled. "Yeah, I know. It's kinda obvious."

Isabella shoved him backwards into the water again.

* * *

_Age 25_

Phineas closed the trunk of the Ford Torino. "You're sure that's everything?" he asked Isabella.

"Of course not!" she laughed. "We're forgetting the most important thing!"

Phineas waved his hand. "I didn't forget!" He turned to the house and cupped his hands around his mouth. "Perry!"

The aged platypus came running out of the house through a hole in the bottom of the door, still considerably agile for his old age. Phineas opened the passenger door and Perry hopped in.

"Okay, _now_ we have everything," Isabella said. She gave Phineas a kiss and climbed into the shotgun seat. Perry promptly climbed onto her lap. Phineas closed the door and circled the car to climb in himself.

Phineas closed his door, but instead of starting the car, reached into the glove compartment and pulled out a small atlas of the United States. He flipped it open to a random page and held it out to Isabella. "Okay, pick somewhere blue."

Isabella took the atlas and flipped through a few pages, finally stopping on North Carolina. "How about Lake Norman?"

Phineas took the atlas back and scanned the roads leading to the large blue blob in the center of North Carolina. "Sounds good to me!" He returned the atlas to the glove box and put the key in the ignition. The big engine roared to life and he shifted into drive. "Let's go get wet!"

Phineas accelerated out of the driveway and headed for the interstate.

**I'm gonna be honest, I don't think this was my best work. Some parts seemed a little awkward. **

**Steve is my OC from my P&F Industries series. I guess that makes this story like a crossover. I didn't want to put any OC's in this, but it was in the right time frame based on P&F Industries. Plus, the lyrics say "Daytona Beach," and I just couldn't resist setting it at a NASCAR race because Steve is a NASCAR fan. Of course, I chose to focus on the "Daytona Beach" part and just ignore the "on spring break" and "eighteen girls up on a stage" lines. I also kidna doubt that Isabella would be afraid to jump out to that rope swing. Sorry, I took a few creative liberties.**

**I hope you guys liked it anyway. I'll do better next time, I promise!**


	12. Jeremy Plays Matchmaker (and guitar)

**This was actually one of the first story ideas I had, months before I ever started writing fanfiction. It's changed a little bit…okay, actually it's completely changed, but it's still basically the same story. I hope you like this one.**

**All I Want Is You**

**belongs to Bryan Adams.**

**Notes: The gang is in eighth grade, Candace and Jeremy are eighteen and nineteen, respectively.**

**Y.A. is the name I gave to Jeremy's drummer, who was never actually named in the show. The name comes from the bass player in Jeremy Duncan's band in the comic strip "Zits."**

Jeremy Plays Matchmaker (and guitar)

Candace was happy.

Why wouldn't she be? She and Jeremy, her long-time boyfriend, walked idly down the sidewalk, holding hands. It was one of the best feelings in the world, as far as she was concerned.

They'd gone for a walk around the block. It was a warm spring Sunday afternoon, the school year almost over. As they reached the driveway of the Flynn-Fletcher house, Isabella was just emerging from the backyard. She looked rather glum, her eyes downcast.

"Hi, Isabella!" Candace called cheerfully.

"Hi, Candace. Hi, Jeremy," she replied.

Candace heard the sadness in her friend's voice. "What's wrong, Isabella?"

Isabella sighed. "Oh, same old thing."

"Phineas?" Jeremy asked.

"Yeah. I've been trying for so long to get him to notice me…I wish he'd go to the eight grade dance with me."

"Well, why don't you ask him?" Candace said.

Isabella sounded frustrated. "You know what happens when you ask Phineas to do something."

All three chorused together, eyes rolled toward the sky. "He immediately includes Ferb."

Isabella folded her arms. "I mean, I like Ferb. He's always been a good friend, and he's helped me out in the past…"

"Like on your eleventh birthday?" Candace asked.

"Exactly. But…sometimes, Phineas doesn't give him a chance to back out like that. He just immediately says, 'Ferb and I will be there,' and drags Ferb along whether he wants to or not." Before either of the teens could say anything in response, Isabella walked around them. "See you later, guys." She headed across the street toward her house.

"Man, I feel bad for her," Jeremy said.

"Me too. I wish there was something we could do to help, but you know my brother. He only hears what he _decides_ people mean, and not necessarily what they are actually saying."

They walked across the yard to the front porch. "You know," Jeremy started with a smirk, "maybe there is a way we can help."

"How?"

"My band is providing live entertainment at the eighth grade dance. Maybe the right song…"

"Ah!" Candace said slyly. "I think I see where you're going with this."

* * *

It was two weeks later. Candace had just finished helping Jeremy and his band set up on the small stage in the school gym and was making her way to the school's front entrance. As had been planned, Ferb was waiting there, dressed in a dark blue suit and tie.

"Ready, Ferb?" Candace asked. Ferb nodded and gave a thumbs up. "Great!"

Phineas and Isabella walked up a few moments later. Isabella wore a simple purple dress and her hair up, and Phineas wore a suit just like Ferb's, only his was gray. "Hey, sis!" Phineas called.

"Hi, Phineas. Hi, Isabella."

Isabella waved, not looking entirely thrilled to be there. Completely oblivious to Isabella's mood, Phineas continued "Are you here helping Jeremy?"

"Of course. He's all set up and ready to go."

"Great!" Phineas turned to Isabella. "I'm so glad the school dance committee hired Jeremy to play tonight. Live music is so much more exciting than a DJ, don't you think, Isabella?"

Isabella glanced at him and answered with no life in her voice. "Yeah. Sure."

"Well, come on guys! What are we waiting for?" Phineas grabbed Ferb's sleeve and Isabella's arm. "Let's go!"

Candace watched Ferb and Isabella stumble as Phineas dragged them along. Candace sighed. She couldn't stand seeing Isabella so depressed. She had been a good friend through the years, despite the age gap between them. "I sure hope this works."

Gretchen walked up behind Candace. She was a critical part of the plan, too. "Hi, Candace."

Candace turned to face her. "Oh, there you are, Gretch. Thanks so much for agreeing to help us."

"No problem. It works out in my favor, too, after all."

"Right…"

* * *

When the two brothers and their friend entered the gymnasium, festively decorated, Phineas left Isabella at their table to go greet Buford and Baljeet. Then Jeremy and the Incidentals began to play. For the entire night, girl after girl asked Phineas to dance, and he accepted every invitation with his usual cheerfulness. He never made it back to Isabella the entire night.

Isabella considered getting up and asking Phineas to dance, but never did. _If he really liked me, he would come ask me to dance. I probably wouldn't even be able to get to him with all those girls swarming around him. _

Many boys asked her to dance, too. But she respectfully declined. She knew her heart would never be in it.

And so, Isabella never set foot on the dance floor.

* * *

The dance was nearly over. Isabella was sitting at a table quietly sipping a glass of ice water. Ferb watched her from a little ways away, listening as Jeremy finished up the current song. When the song ended, he quietly sauntered up next to her.

"All right, boys," Jeremy said into his microphone. "It's time for the last dance of the night, and yes, it's a slow one." There was a quiet moan throughout the gym. "So if you've got a special girl you'd like to dance with, I suggest you find her!" Jeremy backed away from the mic and watched as several boys, and several girls, threaded their way across the dance floor. He then turned to Ferb and nodded.

Ferb nodded back and sat down next to Isabella.

"Hey, Ferb," she sighed.

Ferb put a hand on her shoulder. "I know you're upset about Phineas. But there will only be one eighth grade dance." He stood up and held out his hand. "So, come on. You deserve at least one dance."

Jeremy started to play. _"Yeah!"_

Isabella looked at Ferb's extended hand for a moment, then looked up into his eyes. She forced a half smile. "Okay." She took his hand, and Ferb led her out onto the dance floor.

_"BAAABY!"_

Ferb was an experienced ballroom dancer, and even though it was a slow rock song, he put one hand on Isabella's shoulder and the other on her waist.

Jeremy began to sing, low. _"Don't want diamonds…don't want gold…don't need no fashion, baby, don't wanna be cool. Don't wanna hustle…just to get through…when it all comes down, baby, yeah…" _And then slightly louder. _"All I want is you!"_

Ferb led Isabella in a slow spin around the dance floor. He was looking for Phineas.

_"Now listen: I don't wanna argue…I don't wanna fight…don't want no politics, baby, all through the night, no!" _

Ferb spotted Phineas.

Coltrane and Y.A. chorused with Jeremy for the next few lines. _"I told you before…gonna tell you once more…for the last time, baby! Open up your door!"_

Phineas was dancing with Gretchen. This was part of the plan. She'd been asked to show no mercy to the other girls and make sure that she was Phineas's "last dance."

_"All I want is you!"_

"Hey, bro!" Phineas called as Ferb danced Isabella up next to him.

_"All I want is you!"_

"Hi, Isabella! Where you been?"

_"Not any 'ol girl will do!" (Not any 'ol girl.)_

"I didn't really feel like dancing," she said casting her eyes at the floor.

_"Yeeeah! All I want is you!"_

"I wanted to spend some time with you tonight, but I seemed to have some trouble getting back to you."

Isabella perked up. "Really?!"

_"Yeah, baby! If you don't need love, ya gotta be nuts-"_

"Of course! You're my best friend after all."

Isabella's eyes drooped again. "Oh." _Friendzoned! _she thought.

_"-The heaviest metal always rusts! It's you and me, babe, hangin' tough! Yeah, it's gotta be…it's gotta be…it's gotta be love or bust!…BAAAAABY!"_

"Say, Phineas," Ferb said. "I'd like to dance with Gretchen, if you don't mind. Why don't you dance with Isabella?"

"Okay, sure. You don't mind, do you, Gretchen?"

Gretchen smiled and looked at Ferb. "No, no I don't."

The brothers each twirled their dance partners around and across the floor to each other. Ferb quickly danced Gretchen a little ways away while Phineas held Isabella the same way Ferb had.

Jeremy resumed singing solo. _"I don't need a doctor…I don't need a nurse…don't need no prescription, baby, only make me feel worse."_

Isabella should have been feeling euphoric. She should have been thrilled. She should have been ecstatic to be dancing with Phineas, the boy she loved.

But she wasn't.

_"I don't need a licence, no, and no insurance…"_

She was numb. After all the years of hinting her feelings towards Phineas and having him totally ignore them, Isabella was on the verge of giving up.

_"Don't need a ticket where we're goin', baby…you got my assurance, yeah!"_

So she let Phineas lead her in little circles on the dance floor, wanting the night to just be over. Wanting to go home. Wanting to just cry out her troubles on her bed.

_"I told you before…gonna tell you once more…for the last time, baby…open up your door!…All I want is you!"_

Isabella wasn't even paying attention to the Bryan Adams song that was pouring from Jeremy's guitar. If it had been a few years earlier, she probably would have been in Phineasland, imagining Phineas singing the lyrics to her, and saying, "I love you, Isabella."

But she wasn't.

_"All I want is you! (Hey, baby) Not any 'ol girl will do! (Let me tell ya) Ooohh, all I want is you! Yeah, yeah! If you don't need love, ya gotta be nuts, the heaviest metal always rusts, it's you and me, babe, and that's enough, yeah, it's gotta be…it's gotta be…OOOOHHHHH!"_

While Jeremy and Coltrane cranked out the musically interlude, Phineas looked into Isabella's downcast eyes. "Hey?" he asked. She looked up. "Are you okay? You look upset."

"No…I'm fine."

_"It's gotta be love or bust!"_

"I don't believe you," Phineas said. "Something is really bothering you. I can tell. I've never seen you look so…dejected."

_Maybe I should just tell him,_ Isabella thought. _It would certainly solve a lot of problems, regardless of his reaction._

Isabella opened her mouth, but never got a chance to say anything.

_"I told you before…gonna tell you once more…for the last time, PHINEAS!" _Jeremy yelled into the microphone. _"Open up your door!"_

Everyone in the room looked rather confused at Jeremy's rewrite. Several sets of eyes landed on Phineas.

_"All she wants is you!" _The tone of the music toned down as Jeremy stopped playing and only the percussion continued, with short interjected bass chords from Coltrane.

"What the heck?" Phineas asked. He looked up at Jeremy.

_"All she wants is you!" _Jeremy was pointing at Phineas. _"Heeyeah!" _Jeremy's guitar started again. _"All she wants is you!" _No. He wasn't pointing at Phineas. _(All she wants is you)_ He was looking at Phineas, pointing at Isabella! _"All she wants is you!" (All she wants is you)_

Phineas turned back to Isabella. "Isabella?"

Isabella was beet red. She had figured out what Jeremy was doing and she was quite embarrassed as Phineas looked at her.

_"Not any 'ol boy will do!" (All she wants is you) _

"Is…is this…do you…?" Phineas could not find the words.

_"Oh, nobody else will do!" _

Isabella sighed. "Yes, Phineas. I'm in love with you."

_(All I want is you) "YEEEAAAAAHHHHH!"_

"For how long?"

"What's today?"

"May 29th."

"Seven years."

_(All she wants is you)_

Phineas looked shocked. "Wow. I had no idea!"

_"PHINEAS!"_

"Does this sound familiar?" Isabella asked. She let go of Phineas. "Hey, PHINEAS," she said, over emphasizing Phineas's name. "Whatchadoin'?" She put her hands on her hips. "I was saying it to _you_. Only _you_. I like Ferb, and he's my friend, too, but every time I walked into your backyard, I was saying that to _you_, hoping that you'd notice me."

Phineas was speechless. He wasn't sure what to say. Isabella's head dropped and she closed her eyes.

Suddenly the two were caught in a very bright light. They both looked up, shielding their eyes, and saw Candace, perched high up in the bleachers behind the stage, aiming a spotlight at them. She also had a microphone. "Well don't just stand there," she said, her voice booming through the speakers. "Kiss her!"

Phineas jumped. He turned to Isabella and she looked at him with a sullen face. He quickly glanced back up at Candace, then at Jeremy on the stage, then at some of the people around him, which included Ferb, Gretchen, Buford and Baljeet. They were coaxing him on.

He put his arm around Isabella's neck and pulled her close. He very hesitantly leaned toward her, and pressed his lips carefully against hers.

_"All she wants is you!" (All she wants is you) _

The kiss only lasted about two seconds. Phineas had actually jumped backwards because he wasn't sure what the warm and electrifying feeling was that had shot through him. Isabella saw the look on his face and mistook it as fear. She quickly backed away and forced her way through the crowd.

"Isabella, wait!" Phineas called and raced after her, right out of the gym.

Jeremy, Candace, Ferb, and Gretchen all simultaneously sighed. Jeremy and the Incidentals finished out the song. "Good night, everybody!" Jeremy said with as much gusto as he could, trying to mask his disappointment. Everyone cheered the performance.

Jeremy turned around and looked at Candace up in the bleachers. Candace shook her head. Jeremy sighed again.

* * *

When Isabella realized Phineas was chasing her, she tried to run, but she didn't have much practice running in high heals. She staggered along and Phineas quickly caught up to her. "Isabella!" Phineas cut her off, putting both his hands on her arms. "Isabella…what's wrong?"

"You looked scared. Like kissing me was a bad thing." A tear was sliding down Isabella's cheek.

"Scared? I wasn't scared. I was…confused…about…things."

"Like what?" She spat the words with anger.

"Like…well, it's not every day that I kiss my best friend. I…don't know how I'm supposed to feel about that." Isabella was silent. "And then…I was confused about…this feeling…I felt like I'd just touched a nuclear reactor, or something." Isabella raised an eyebrow. "It was something that I'd never felt before, and it startled me…but…I think I liked it."

Isabella looked up. "Really?"

"Yeah. It was weird. I'm not sure what it was…but…I think I'd like to feel it again. You know, if that's okay with you."

Isabella looked away from Phineas. "Close your eyes."

"Why?"

"Just do it."

Phineas reluctantly closed his eyes. Isabella leaned close to him, put her arms around him, and put her lips against his. After only a few seconds, she backed off, but Phineas put his arm around her. Still with his eyes closed, he said, "I wasn't done yet." And he pulled her back to him.

Isabella sighed in the kiss. She had no idea what had just happened, but she didn't really care.

* * *

Candace helped the band pack up it's equipment. Long after all the kids had gone home, she walked with Jeremy out of the gym, both of them carrying everything they could out to Jeremy's van.

"I feel really bad," Candace said. "I think we might have made things worse."

"Yeah, that might not have been the best plan," Jeremy replied.

As they turned down a side hallway that led out to the teachers' parking lot where Jeremy had parked his van, they both stopped. Phineas and Isabella were sitting on the floor in the corner by the door, arms wrapped around each other, their lips pressed firmly together.

"Or…maybe we didn't screw up after all," Candace whispered with a smile.

"Sure looks that way."

Jeremy caught something out of the corner of his eye. Crouched in the doorway of a classroom in the same hallway were Ferb and Gretchen, holding hands. They were watching Phineas and Isabella. "What are you guys doing?" Jeremy whispered to them.

"Timing," Gretchen said. "They haven't moved from that position for the last 23 minutes." Ferb held up a digital stop watch in his free hand to prove it.

"I sure hope they're still breathing," Candace said, "because if they aren't, the four of us might be responsible for a double homicide."

"Cause of death: suffocation," Jeremy said.

"Or intoxication," Ferb suggested.

Phineas and Isabella were completely oblivious to the presence of the others. They were completely lost in each other.

* * *

Sooner or later, after the band equipment had all been packed into Jeremy's van and Ferb and Gretchen had hitched a ride home with Coltrane, Candace returned to them. "Hey, guys? You want a ride home, or not?"

Phineas reluctantly released Isabella. "Sure, sis." He stood and helped Isabella to her feet. They followed Candace outside.

"Hey, Isabella?"

"Yes, Phineas?"

"You…you said you love me, right?"

"Right."

"If…if I…said…that I love you back…do I get to kiss you like this more often?"

Isabella giggled as Phineas stumbled over his words. "You can kiss me any time you want."

Phineas stopped walking and held out his hand to stop Isabella. "Isabella…I think I might love you."

Isabella stared at him for a minute, then shrugged. "I'll take what I can get." She put her arm around Phineas and kissed him again.

"No, I definitely love you," Phineas said.

"That's more like it." They kissed again, locking together.

Candace opened the door to the van as Jeremy started the engine. She turned and saw Phineas and Isabella kissing again. Phineas was holding Isabella's head in his hands, running his palms around the back of her neck, feeling her silky black hair. "Guys? Are you coming?" They didn't reply. "Sometime today, guys!" Candace called. Still, they didn't move. "If you guys don't get in the van right now, we're leaving you here and you can walk home!"

They reluctantly broke apart and hurried to the van. "Sorry, Candace."

**I could probably write a fanfic for every Bryan Adams song I know, for all different character pairings depending on the song's tone. This one was pretty easy. **


	13. Bonnie and Clyde Part 1

**I wrote this story for two reasons:**

**1. The 1970 Ford Torino has been in all but three stories so far, and I really wanted to write a story where the Torino was the main point of the story.**

**2. I saw Getaway. I thought it was one of the best movies I've ever seen! Seriously, if you if haven't seen it yet, you need to see it NOW! I've written racing stories, but never a car chase, and after seeing Getaway, I said "I'm gonna write a car chase!" So…this was what I came up with.**

**Expect this story to be a few parts long. I'm going to try to keep it to four chapters at a minimum. The gang is sixteen.**

**GOOD LORD! This story has a Perry/Doof subplot!**

Bonnie and Clyde

Part 1

As many mornings began in the backyard of the Flynn-Fletcher house, the gang was listening to Buford ramble on about some random subject.

"So I was watching this show on the History Channel last night about Bonnie and Clyde-"

"As I recall, Miss Bonnie Elizabeth Parker and Mr. Clyde Chestnut Barrow were responsible for the robberies of at least a dozen major banks, any number of small stores and gas stations, and the murders of at least nine policemen and an unknown number of civilians," Baljeet interrupted, reciting the facts like a living textbook.

Buford glared at him. "Did I ask for a history lesson?"

Baljeet shrank back. "No."

"As I was saying…those two sound like they had it made! Think about it: running all over the country, stealing money instead of actually working for it, with only your lover at your side. Sounds like a heck of an adventure to me."

"That does sound like a heck of an adventure," Phineas agreed. "Except for, you know, dying in a hail of gunfire." He heard a sigh and looked over at Isabella, who was leaning against the tree on the other side of Ferb, a dreamy look in her eyes. She was still thinking about what Buford had said about "having only your lover at your side." "You okay, Isabella?"

She jumped a little. "Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine."

"Great! Because I think I know what we're going to do today. Ferb, how quickly do you think we can build four or five police cars?"

Ferb looked at his watch, then pulled out a calculator, tapped out a few quick numeric sequences, scribbled a bit on a clipboard, and then looked at Phineas and shrugged.

"Great! Hey…where's Perry?"

* * *

"Good morning, Agent P," Major Monogram greeted seriously. "We've got a big situation here. Somebody, I'm not saying who, but _somebody_ locked the keys to my office _in_ my office. And I had a tuna fish sandwich sitting on my desk in there, so now the whole place is going to smell like tuna."

"Sir, I said I was sorry," Carl said off-screen. "I told you, I already called the locksmith. He'll be here between the hours of 11am and 6pm."

Perry rolled his eyes.

"Anyway, Doofenshmirtz has been buying up a lot of movies from the seventies, eighties, and nineties. We need you to figure out what he's up to, and if necessary, put a stop to it."

Perry saluted and jumped into his hovercraft. When he was gone, Monogram called, "Carl! I need two steak knives!"

"Why, sir?"

"I'm going to try to pick the lock on my office door. I saw it on NCIS."

"Sir, don't you remember what happened the last time you used two sharp objects at the same time?"

"Oh come on, the scars are barley noticeable."

* * *

The sign on the side of the road announced: NOW ENTERING BAGER CREEK_. _Six cars drove past, led by a blue 1970 Ford Torino. The other five cars were 1970 Dodge Polara police cars, painted the typical black and white. The convoy followed the road through a gap in a low brick wall and stopped in the middle of the deserted road.

Phineas climbed from the Torino and greeted the others. Django, Irving, and the former Fireside Girls had joined them. The sun here seemed hotter than back home in Danville, which was about forty-five minutes away. "Welcome everyone to the ghost town of Badger Creek. This once thriving small town community was abandoned in the 80's after the town's water well was contaminated. But that makes it the perfect place for what we're gonna do today."

"Could you speed up the explanation, dude?" Buford asked. "We've been standing here for less than a minute and I think I'm already starting to burn."

"We're going to do sort of our own version of Bonnie and Clyde. I will play the role of Clyde, starting from the bank in the town square, as if I'd just robbed it, and use my Ford Torino as a getaway car."

"You do know that Bonnie and Clyde lived in the 1930's, right?" Gretchen asked.

"Yes, but like I said, it's our own version. Apparently, that means 1970's, because the cars are 70's and the town was built in the seventies, so…  
"Anyway, these police cars Ferb and I built will be a relatively fair match for the Torino, at least as far as handling and top speed. Every car will have two people, one to drive, and one to shoot at me with a paintball gun. The objective is to stop me from getting out of the town, and since there's only two ways out, the way we came, which is the north entrance, and the south entrance on the opposite side of town, it should be quite a challenge. If the Torino gets hit by fifty paintballs, I lose."

Buford wrung his hands together. "Oh, this sounds like fun. Finally, a chance to drive really fast _and_ shoot at stuff."

"I have a question!" Isabella called. "Who gets to be Bonnie?"

"Hmm. I hadn't really considered it," Phineas said. "Why, do you want to be Bonnie?"

"YES! I mean, yeah, sure."

"Okay, I guess you're Bonnie. Everyone else pair up and choose a police car, then drive to the designated spot on the map of the town we gave you. Can't have everyone start from the same spot, where would the fun in that be?"

When everyone had paired up and driven away, Phineas turned to Isabella, the only other person still there. "I'm excited about this. I've been looking for an opportunity to really test the performance capabilities of my Ford Torino. I've been wanting to see just how fast it'll go since I finished restoring it. Pesky speed limits, what're you gonna do."

Isabella wasn't really paying attention. She was just happy to be spending some alone time with Phineas. "Well, what are we waiting for, Clyde, dear?" she asked, climbing into the passenger seat. "Let's go rob a bank!"

"My dear Bonnie, I like the way you think," Phineas said as he climbed in and started the engine.

_Hee hee! He called me 'dear!'_

Phineas shifted into first gear and drove at a normal speed toward the town square.

* * *

_Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated!_

Doofenshmirtz heard Perry's hovercraft touch down on the balcony and turned. "Ah, Perry the Platypus! How would you like some POPCORN?!" Doof pulled a remote from his pocket and pressed the single button. A giant bucket of popcorn rose from a trapdoor underneath Perry. The platypus was trapped by the buttery puffs of corn.

Doofenshmirtz tossed the remote over his shoulder and strolled over to Perry. "So, Perry the Platypus, I'll bet you're wondering what my latest scheme is. Well, lately I've been really into movies. I can't get enough of movies. You know who the real stars of movies are? Surely not the heroes. It's the villains! The bad guys! They're the real stars!

"But I noticed something. Unlike real life, the bad guys always lose! They always either get caught or die. I mean, come on, everybody knows evil always wins!"

Perry rolled his eyes.

"But, that gave me an idea. Since movie antagonists always seem to lose for some reason that I cannot figure out, I built this!" He motioned to the large ray gun sitting on the edge of the balcony. "Behold, the MOVIE-VILLAININATOR! This device will turn whoever it hits into a movie villain they are most like. I don't mean a specific villain, like it's not going to turn someone into Darth Vader. That wouldn't even make any sense. What I mean is it'll turn the person into a movie villain as if they were an villain in a new movie…so it would be an original villain…and that villain will be based on who the person is most like…Am I over-explaining this?"

Perry shrugged, causing the popcorn to shift slightly.

"Okay, let me stop explaining and just tell you what I plan to do with it. I'm going to shoot my brother, the mayor. Since he holds political power, I figure he'll turn into a cliché evil dictator. When he starts ruling the Tri-State Area with an iron fist and oppressing the citizens of Danville, I'll just call the United States government and they'll send in the military to remove him from power. And when they do, I'll be standing by to assume his position, and then I will finally be the ruler of the ENTIRE TRI-STATE AREA!"

* * *

Phineas and Isabella strolled up the steps to the long-abandoned bank. "So, how did Bonnie and Clyde pull off all these robberies?" Isabella asked. "I mean, robbing a major bank is no small task, even in the 30's."

"Well, I've never really explored much documentation on their methods, but I figure Bonnie probably used her sex-appeal to distract the guards and bank workers and then Clyde would race in waving his guns around and catch everyone so off-guard that they practically threw the money at him."

"Really?"

"I have absolutely no proof to back this up. I'm just taking a wild guess."

They reached the top of the steps and Phineas tried the door. It was locked. "I kinda figured it would be. Doesn't really matter. We're only really interested in the chase, not the robbery. Nothing to steal in there, anyway." They turned back around and Phineas pulled something from his pocket.

"What's that?" Isabella asked.

"Bank alarm simulator to let everyone know to begin their pursuit." He pressed the single button. Nothing appeared to happen.

"Did it work?" Isabella asked.

"Yup. The alarms are inside the police cars." He started toward the steps. "Come on, let's run like we're escaping."

"Right behind you!"

They tore down the first flight of stairs, laughing to themselves as they did. Even though it was just a game, they both found it very exciting. When they reached the second set of stairs, Isabella slid down the hand rail. "Keep up, Clyde, honey!" she taunted playfully, using it as an excuse to call Phineas by an affectionate pet name. Phineas took no notice of her true intentions and laughed.

They reached the Torino. Phineas slid across the hood like Bo Duke, trying to be dramatic, but he didn't land very gracefully, falling to the pavement. "Ow." He pulled himself up and into the car as Isabella dove into the passenger seat. They could hear sirens in the distance, getting closer.

The key was already in the ignition, and Phineas twisted it forward while simultaneously pulling his seat belt on. The engine roared to life just as the police car driven by Django came around the block ahead of them, sirens blazing and lights flashing. Adyson, his girlfriend and the best shot in Fireside Troop 46231, rode shotgun, holding her paintball gun out the window.

"Here we go!" Phineas cried out. He pushed in the clutch and threw the transmission into reverse. As Adyson drew a bead on the Torino's windshield, Phineas floored the gas, looking over his shoulder as the car shot backwards. When he reached the end of the block, he threw the wheel hard left and slammed on the brakes. The car spun around in the intersection and Phineas jammed the stick into first gear. The Ford leapt forward when he punched the gas, throwing him and Isabella back in their seats. The quick maneuver had caused Adyson to miss every shot.

"Wow! Nice driving, Phineas!" Isabella called over the roar of the engine.

"Thanks." As Django and Adyson gave chase and the latter continued firing, Phineas wrenched the wheel over and turned down a side street, using the hand brake to make the car drift so he wouldn't have to sacrifice too much speed. The tires squealed for a few seconds and then Phineas floored it again.

From a side street ahead came another police car, heading straight for Phineas and Isabella. This car was different than the others, painted with a large gold star on the sides and marked "SHERIFF." Ferb was the Sheriff, of course, with Deputy Irving at his side.

"Okay, then," Phineas muttered to himself. He grabbed the handbrake again and lifted off the gas. The Torino slid onto a residential street. The police cars lost ground on Phineas as they slowed to turn. They couldn't even copy Phineas's maneuver because they did not have handbrakes.

As Phineas rounded another corner, the other three police cars appeared. Buford drove one, holding the paintball gun himself, refusing to let Baljeet do the shooting. Holly and Gretchen were paired in another. The last car was driven by Katie, and Ginger and Milly rode with her. Ginger rode in the passenger seat with her double barrel paintball shotgun and Milly, in the backseat, held a fully-automatic rapid-fire paintball gun, the only one among the gang of "cops."

Phineas avoided them by driving up on the sidewalk and cutting across an overgrown front yard. The Torino bounced hard over the curbs and Isabella held onto the dashboard in front of her to keep from hitting it.

_Okay, maybe this isn't as much fun as I thought it would be, _Isabella thought. Then she looked at Phineas. The sun's rays were refracted by his half open window, and it created a glow around his head. The breeze blew his red hair around dreamily, and the calm yet determined expression on his triangular face looked very heroic. _It's better!_

"They're on us now!" Phineas called out, not really projecting any concern. "Keep an eye out for a place to lose 'em…Bonnie, my dear!"

Isabella smiled broadly. _Well, as long as we're playing lovers…_ "Clyde, my love, I will do just that."

Phineas laughed as the chase entered the middle of town and made an abrupt turn down an alley as Milly began to fire. A few shots hit the rear fender, but most missed. The cop cars shot past, unable to follow. The Torino shot out the other side of the alley onto Church Street, driving west while their friends in the police cars were forced to continue east until the end of the block. The church was on the corner of a side street here.

"I have an idea!" Isabella yelled as she noticed a large shed behind the church. "Drive into the church yard!" Phineas did just that, skidding onto the side street and then turning hard left and jumping the curb into the yard behind the church. Isabella unbuckled her seat belt and grabbed the door handle. "We can hide in that shed!"

"Good idea!" When Phineas was a few feet away from the large set of double doors, he slammed on the brakes. Gravel scattered as the Torino's wheels locked up. Isabella quickly jumped out of the car, closing the door behind her.

Isabella ran to the shed doors and undid the latch. She quickly pushed open the doors as the police sirens in the distance began to grow louder again. They had rounded the last block and were heading back toward them. Thankfully, the shed was empty. Isabella stood aside so that Phineas could drive in, then closed the doors behind the Torino. A few seconds later, the police cars screamed past.

Phineas turned off the ignition and climbed out of the car. "Well, that was fun!"

"Yeah!" Isabella agreed.

"We'll just lay low here for a couple minutes and wait until they all split up and start searching for us. Then we'll make a break for the north end of town."

Phineas leaned against the hood of the car. Isabella joined him. "You know, Phineas, this is kinda romantic." _Whoa, whoa, whoa! WHY did I say that?_

"It is?"

_Okay, hold on. Think carefully here. This could be your shot._ "Sure. Buford was right. You know, a boy, a girl, on the run from the law, hiding out in a shed. It's romantic."

"That's strange," Phineas said quizzically, "I thought romance had to be all mushy, like Valentine's Day. You know, flowers, music, gourmet food in a candle lit environment…"

"It doesn't have to be like that," Isabella told him. "It can be, by all means, but romance can be whatever you want it to be. There's a few constants, though. Like the dark. Darkness is always romantic."

"Oh." Phineas seemed to be thinking very hard. "Huh. You learn something new everyday, I guess."

Isabella sighed. _Guess that didn't work._

* * *

"So, Roger should be sitting at his desk right now, eating his lunch," Doofenshmirtz said looking at his watch. "Which means it's the perfect time to hit him with my Movie-Villaininator." He walked away from the popcorn-bound Perry and headed over to his inator.

Doofenshmirtz was not, however, watching where he was going. He tripped over the remote that he had tossed over his shoulder earlier and crashed into the inator. "Oof!"

The laser was knocked by Doof's fall, and it pointed straight up in the air. As Doofenshmirtz grabbed the handle to pull himself to his feet, he accidentally pushed the FIRE button. A bright red beam of energy shot up into the sky. "Whoops! Good thing that was pointed straight up into space where it can't hit anyone."

* * *

Doofenshmirtz was wrong.

The beam struck a communications satellite that somehow was always directly over Danville. A moment later, the energy shot back out again through an antenna dish, only on a slightly different trajectory.

* * *

Ferb slowed his car. The others, who were all following him, did the same. Irving picked up the CB radio. "We lost them. Let's fan out and patrol the streets until we find them. Ferb and I will block the north entrance incase they try to escape, and Katie, you go down and block the south entrance."

"Copy that, deputy," the others replied one by one.

But before the police cars could disperse, all five cars were struck by a blue ray of energy from the sky. They switched off their sirens and drove off.

**That was a lot of fun to write. Can't wait to continue this one!**

**Yes, this is a Phineabella story. Couldn't give it to you all at once, where would the fun in that be? The romance will progress, don't worry.**


	14. Bonnie and Clyde Part 2

Bonnie and Clyde

Part 2

Isabella opened the doors again as Phineas started the engine. He backed out slowly, trying hard not to make too much noise. When the Torino was clear of the doors, Isabella closed them, and climbed back into the passenger seat.

"Now we just have to avoid all the cops," Phineas said as he shifted from reverse to first gear.

"Easier said then done," Isabella pointed out. "It's kinda hard to blend in when there's only a total of six cars in the entire town and five of them are police cars."

Phineas drove slowly out of the church yard back onto the road and turned left. "Yeah. Ferb and I should have built some computer-controlled cars to randomly drive the streets so the town doesn't feel so empty." He stopped at the intersection and inched out slowly, checking to make sure the street was clear. "Oh, well."

Phineas slowly crossed the intersection and continued down the street, heading for the edge of town. "I figure the others will be patrolling the streets in the middle of town and have the exits blocked."

"Meaning the outskirts will probably be fairly safe," Isabella finished the thought for him. "Good thinking."

The street ended at a "T" intersection. Directly ahead was only the low brick wall that surrounded the town. Phineas decided to turn left and headed toward the north entrance. "Yup. Then we'll hopefully only have to deal with the police blocking the exit. Much easier than trying to deal with them all at once."

* * *

Doofenshmirtz dusted himself off. "Okay, now, where was I? Oh, right! Blasting my brother with the Movie-Villaininator!" He inspected the machine. "Oh, no, the battery's almost drained. Now I'm gonna have to recharge it." Doofenshmirtz plugged the inator into a wall outlet.

Perry knew he had to escape Doofenshmirtz's trap before the inator recharged. He looked around for a method of escape, but saw nothing that gave him any inspiration. Then he remembered he was trapped in popcorn. He sighed and started eating.

* * *

Phineas heard the squeal of rubber on asphalt before he saw the police car behind him. "Oop, here we go again!" Phineas pressed down on the accelerator, but in the time it took the Torino to accelerate, the police car caught up to within a few car lengths. It was the car driven by Holly. Gretchen leaned out the passenger window, gun in hand.

"Go, Phineas! They're right on us!" Isabella urged.

"Guess we're done role playing. I'm on it!"

Gretchen took aim, and fired several shots. The rounds pinged off the passenger door, the gun barking loudly.

"I don't remember paintball guns making so much noise," Isabella said.

The rear passenger window suddenly shattered. Isabella let out a surprised shriek.

"And I don't remember paintballs being able to shatter glass!" Phineas cried.

Isabella cranked her window down and carefully looked out at the side of the car. There were no splatters of brightly colored paint, but there were a few holes. Isabella quickly ducked back inside as Gretchen opened fire again.

"Phineas! Gretchen is firing at us with a real gun!"

"What?!"

"There's holes in the body panels of the car!"

Phineas put his foot to the floor and up-shifted. Up until now, he hadn't really been trying to outrun the police car behind him. The Torino pulled ahead, putting some distance between it and the police car. A side street appeared ahead. "Hold on to something!"

"Like you?"

Phineas paused a moment before answering. "I guess if you want to."

Isabella leaned over and put her arm around Phineas, careful not to disrupt his ability to steer and shift. Phineas threw the car into second gear and turned the wheel hard left. The tires squealed loudly as Phineas tapped the brakes, causing the car to slide through the turn. Then he straightened the car, up-shifted and slammed his foot back to the floor.

Holly did not make it through the corner nearly as smoothly as Phineas, and lost more ground to the Torino. Isabella reluctantly let go so that she could turn around to look at the pursuing police cars.

"I think we can lose 'em now!" Phineas said hopefully. No sooner were the words out of his mouth, Buford and Baljeet's car appeared in the next intersection, blocking their path. Buford was pointing his gun at the Torino. It spat lead at the Ford. "AAAAHHH!" Phineas and Isabella screamed. Phineas turned the car hard right, narrowly avoiding the hail of bullets, bouncing hard over the curb and kicking up dirt as he drifted through the front yard of house and continued on.

Buford and Baljeet quickly gave chase. Now there were two police cars after them, each trying to get a clear shot at their target as Phineas bobbed and weaved over the road.

"Why are our friends shooting at us with live ammunition?" Isabella screamed.

"I have no idea, but for now, we just need to focus on getting out of here!"

Phineas grabbed the handbrake and drifted around another turn, but he lost control of the car and it almost spun completely around, which cost them forward momentum. It gave Buford and Baljeet a chance to catch up.

Buford pulled almost even with the Torino on the passenger side. He aimed his gun through the window, at Isabella's head.

"PHINEAS!"

Phineas thought fast. He slammed the Torino into the police car. The jolt caused Buford to lose his grip on the gun, and he dropped it.

"Thanks, Phineas."

"Don't thank me yet," he replied nervously.

Buford backed off just a little bit so that, instead of being even with Phineas, the front bumper of the police car was aligned with the back bumper of the Torino. He turned hard left. The cars collided, and the force pushing against the back of the car caused the Torino to slide.

Phineas fought the wheel hard to bring the car out of the spin, and did, but now he was no longer aligned with the street. The Torino jumped the curb and landed in the yard of a residential home. The car was aimed straight at a detached garage. Phineas tried to turn away, but didn't have enough traction to turn on the dirt, and the car smashed into the side of the garage.

The forty five-year-old termite eaten wood splintered as the car drove through the wall and exploded out the other side at eighty miles per hour. Phineas threaded the car between two houses and finally ended up on a perpendicular street.

"The next street over is Main Street!" Phineas said. "It's a straight shot out of the town…unless, of course, they have a car waiting there to ambush us."

"I'm willing to bet they do." Now that they had put some distance between themselves and the two police cars (thanks to their unintentional shortcut) and the sirens were no longer blaring right behind them, a faint beeping could be heard. "What's that sound?" Isabella asked.

"I think it's my cell phone," Phineas said. "It's in the glove box. Take a look."

Isabella opened the glove compartment and found Phineas's phone on top of the owner's manual. "There's a message on it." Isabella instinctively tightened her grip on the phone as Phineas turned a sharp corner and she was thrown against the door. "It says 'High Concentration of Xenon Isobutane detected.'" Phineas's eyes went wide. "What the heck does that mean?"

"It means we're in more trouble than I thought."

The Torino rocketed down the street, the wind whistling through the shattered rear window. Phineas drifted the car through another right turn, and they found themselves on Main Street. And sure enough, at the end of the road about three hundred yards away, was Ferb's police car. Irving stood behind the open passenger door, aiming his gun at the Torino.

"Now what, Phineas?"

"Uhhh…" Phineas scanned the area on either side of the police car. The opening in the low brick wall was only just wide enough for the two lane road, and with the police car there, there was not enough room for the Torino to squeeze past. Then Phineas noticed something to the left of the police car.

When the town had been abandoned, it had been cleared out of everything except for the buildings. The one exception was an old flatbed trailer, parked just to the side of the north entrance. The support on the front end had rusted to the point of collapsing, leaving the trailer nose down in the dirt, the back held up by flat rear tires.

"I have an idea." Phineas threw the car through another left hand turn just as Irving opened fire. A few bullets pinged off the rear bumper, but most missed.

Phineas sped toward the edge of town, and when he reached the last street parallel to the brick wall, he turned right again, running alongside the wall.

"Uh, Phineas, what exactly are you planning on doing?"

"We're gonna jump the wall."

Isabella's jaw dropped. "Are you crazy? You're gonna get us killed!"

Phineas took his hand off the shifter and took Isabella's hand. She looked up at him. He gave her a smirk and a quick wink. "Trust me."

"I do, Phineas, just…" He glanced at her again. They could see the flatbed trailer just a hundred yards ahead. "…Don't let go."

Phineas gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. "I won't."

Irving spun around when he heard the growl of the big Ford V8. He aimed his gun at the speeding car, but when he had fired only a few rounds, the Torino's path took it along a path where his shot was blocked by the flatbed trailer.

Holding the steering wheel with a white knuckled grip, Phineas yelled "Here we go!"

The speedometer registered 93mph when the car drove up the flatbed. When the wheels left the end of the trailer and broke free from gravity, Phineas lifted his foot off the accelerator. The Ford Torino flew right over Ferb's police car and over the brick wall. To Ferb and Irving, it launched overhead so fast they didn't even have time to bring their weapons to bear. To the passengers in the car, the flight happened in slow motion. It seemed to take forever to reach the ground.

The Torino landed hard in the dirt on the other side of the wall, jolting Phineas so hard that he hit his large nose against the steering wheel. Isabella managed to keep from injuring herself, but her heart was pounding so hard she thought it might leap out of her chest.

Phineas accelerated again and turned the car to head back to the road. As he glanced in the rearview mirror, he could see Ferb hastily moving his car so that the he and the others could give chase.

"Are you okay, Isabella?"

"Yes, I'm okay. Are you?"

"I'm fine. My nose is a little sore, but otherwise…"

The Torino hit the asphalt of the two lane road and Phineas pressed down on the gas pedal harder, shifting up to third and then fourth gear as they raced toward the highway. Phineas started to let go of Isabella's hand, but she just squeezed harder. He looked at her questioningly. "Please don't," Isabella pleaded in a whisper.

Phineas nodded. He looked in the mirror again. The police cars had just exited the town, about half a mile behind. "I'll be right here until this is over, regardless of how it ends."

While Isabella was glad to hear that, and much comforted by holding Phineas's hand, the thought of what he meant by "Regardless of how it ends" made her cringe.

* * *

Perry felt sick to his stomach from all the popcorn. He breathed hard and looked at Doofenshmirtz.

"Charge at ninety-four percent!" Doof announced. "Almost ready to fire!"

Perry sighed and kept eating.

**Okay, I know there isn't a ton of Phineabella in this story yet, but the next chapter should have a lot. Just be patient, we'll get there.**


	15. Bonnie and Clyde Part 3

**Almost 5,000 views! 17 Favorites and 28 followers! (And those are special numbers, because one is the number on Steve's Mustang in _P&F Industries, _and the other is the number on his racecar. lindsey k, you're lucky number 28!) I never thought this story would ever be this popular! Thanks so much, everybody!**

**Now, go read the _P&F Industries _series, because I put a lot of effort into those stories and hardly anybody reads them.  
****I'm just kidding. I don't care. I'm happy to have one really popular story. **

**Anyway, here's part 3:**

Bonnie and Clyde

Part 3

Having left their friends in the police cars far behind, Phineas's mind began to whir, trying to decide what to do next.

"Why are our friends suddenly trying to kill us?" Isabella asked.

"I have a pretty good idea. I'll explain it to you in a minute. First let's make sure we lose 'em." Finally, they reached the on-ramp to the highway. "Not that I don't want to hold your hand, but I kinda need that hand to shift."

Isabella blushed. "Sorry." She let go and Phineas put his hand on top of the shifter.

When he had down shifted to second gear and rolling at a speed limit-compliant pace, he merged onto the highway. He briefly glanced over at Isabella, who was pressing far back into the seat, her eyes closed tightly. "You can put your hand on top of mine, if you want," Phineas said.

After a moment of hesitation, Isabella put her hand over Phineas's and squeezed. "Thank you," she whispered, avoiding his gaze.

"Don't mention it." Phineas flicked on his blinker and moved over to the far left lane, accelerating as he did so.

"So why are our friends trying to kill us?" Isabella asked.

"I think, somehow, they must have come into contact with Xenon Isobutane, a compound whose effects are relatively unknown." Phineas moved to the middle lane and stepped on the gas to pass a white Chrysler Sebring before shifting back to the left and continuing. "The Xenon Isobutane must have somehow effected their brains, making them think that we really are Bonnie and Clyde, and that they really are cops, and that it is their duty to kill us. But I have absolutely no idea where they got real guns from."

"Wow, those effects are really specific to our situation," Isabella observed.

"I'm sure that's not exactly what that compound will do to a human. It probably just affects the brain to make a person think that something fake is real," Phineas explained. "No one really knows because typically, Xenon doesn't bond with any other elements, so it's difficult to study."

"So…what do we do?"

Phineas didn't answer right away. "I don't know. I'm still working on that." He pulled out to pass a beat up Dodge Dakota and returned to the left lane again.

Isabella closed her eyes. "Phineas…do you think we're going to make it out of this? Alive?"

Once again, Phineas hesitated before answering. "I don't know."

For a few minutes, the only sound was the growl of the 351 Cleveland engine as they cruised down the highway. Isabella was mulling something over in her head. Finally, she worked up the courage to speak. "Phineas?"

"Yes?"

"Can I tell you something?"

"Sure."

"Just in case we don't make it out of this, I need you to know…" She paused and took a deep breath. "I…I'm in love with you."

Phineas looked at her. "What?" he said in disbelief.

"I've been in love with you since we were six."

Phineas's jaw dropped slightly as he turned his attention back to the road. "I…I don't know what to say."

Isabella blushed. "I just…I wanted you to know…just incase."

Phineas looked at her again. He opened his mouth to say something-

_*bang!* *bang!* *bang!* _The sound of bullets pinging against the rear of the Torino accompanied each gunshot.

"Dang it!" Phineas stepped on the gas and shifted up to third gear before looking up at the rear view mirror. Isabella took her hand off of his. Four of the five police cars were closing fast, Ferb's Sheriff's car in the lead. "Hold on!"

The Torino was gaining fast on an old Toyota Avalon. Phineas started to move to the center lane to pass it, but there was another car already there. So, he eased left into the median and passed the Avalon in the grass. The police cars stayed right on his tail.

Phineas weaved back and forth through the traffic, the speedometer climbing above 90 after he shifted to fourth gear. The police cars took turns shooting at the Torino whenever they had a clear shot, but a several times came very close to striking another car, both with bullets and with their police cars.

"We need to get off this highway!" Isabella screamed. "Somebody's gonna get hurt!"

"My thoughts exactly!" Phineas called back as he swerved around a green Chevy Cavalier. Ahead was an overpass that spanned a large concrete drainage channel. "And I think I know how!" There was a large gap just behind them in the right and center lanes. Phineas quickly moved as far right as he could.

They were almost on top of the overpass. The grassy areas on either side of the highway sloped downward steeply here. "Here goes!" Phineas wrenched the car hard to the right, the tires squealing in protest. The Torino slid down the steep embankment, and the police cars quickly followed, leaving the highway.

The Torino bounced hard as it dropped a short distance into the channel onto the concrete. "Oof!" Phineas and Isabella groaned.

The last police car in the line was Buford and Baljeet's. When Buford turned, the right front tire dug into the ground and caused the car to drop over the hill at a lousy angle. The Dodge flipped over and tumbled slowly down the grass embankment, landing on its roof.

The two teens climbed out of the car through the shattered windows, thankfully unhurt. They glared at each other as the other police cars and their target disappeared from sight. "This is your fault," Buford seethed.

"How is it my fault? You were the one driving!"

"You distracted me!"

"How did I distract you? I was sitting there silently, just like you asked me to!"

Buford gritted his teeth and narrowed his eyes. Baljeet raised his hands defensively and put on a fake, and very nervous, smile. "Oh, how silly of me to distract you like that! I am sorry!"

Meanwhile, the other cars tore along the drainage channel. Now that there were no bystanders to worry about hitting, Irving, Adyson, and Gretchen fired their guns non-stop at the Torino. Phineas noticed as they passed a small ally in the side of the channel, just big enough for a car to fit through.

"I have an idea," Phineas said. "But it's really dangerous. There's a good chance…it might kill us."

Isabella turned to Phineas. "I trust you, Phineas," she said. "I trust you with my life."

Phineas looked at her for a second. Their eyes met. She looked scared half to death, her fists clenching the door handle and arm rest with a white knuckled grip. But something about the way she spoke made him not want to risk her life, never mind his own. But if he did nothing, her life was still at risk.

He made up his mind.

"Alright, get down below the dash board," Phineas said.

Isabella unbuckled her seatbelt and shrank down below the dash. Phineas steered through the water laying in the center on the ditch, throwing up a big splash. Behind the Torino, Ferb and Holly's cars were side-by-side, but far enough apart that another car could fit between them.

Phineas tapped the shifter with his thumb a few times. "I really hope this doesn't wreck the transmission…" He lifted his foot off the gas, pushed in the clutch, and threw the car into reverse. He pushed the gas pedal down for just a second and wrenched the steering wheel to the right. The Ford Torino spun around. Isabella was thrown against the door.

Phineas let off the accelerator, jammed it into second gear and floored it. The two police cars shot by on either side as the Torino slowed it's reverse momentum and began moving forward again. Phineas ducked as Django fired at him and pulled the wheel right again. The two cars passed within inches of each other, but none of Django's shots found their mark.

The Torino splashed through the water again, the speed climbing higher as they flew toward the ally. Phineas downshifted and then grabbed the handbrake as he turned right one more time down the ally. He slammed on the brakes again and slid the car to the left into a massive drainpipe. Ahead, the pipe gently curved. When all traces of daylight had disappeared, blocked out by the curve, Phineas stopped the car and turned off the engine.

It became deathly silent, the only sound the trickle of water through the pipe beneath the car. A few moments later they could hear a roar as the remaining police cars drove past the drain pipe. Then all was silent again.

Isabella slowly climbed back up onto the seat. She didn't look at Phineas. She was afraid to.

"We'll stay here for a while until we come up with a plan," Phineas told her. She nodded, but said nothing.

They sat in silence for a several minutes. Now that they were no longer being shot at, Isabella's earlier words finally crept back into Phineas's mind.

"Isabella?"

Her blood ran cold. "Yes, Phineas?"

"What…what did you mean before?"

"I…I meant that I-" She swallowed. "I love you."

"You mean like-?" He didn't finish the sentence.

"Yes. Like that."

Phineas laughed as he slid the key from the ignition. "Ha ha. I almost believed you for a second. But this isn't really a good time for jokes."

Isabella gasped. "How could you think I was joking?"

"Because," Phineas said, waving his hand, "there's no way you could be in love with me! I mean, that's ridiculous!"

"Why is it ridiculous?!"

"Why would you be attracted to me? There's plenty of other guys out there, and I'm sure most of them are better than me. Plus, I mean, we're friends." Isabella was shocked! He didn't believe her! "Besides, if you really have been in love with me for ten years, I think I would have noticed by now."

"Phineas, I wasn't joking! I'm serious! I've been trying to work up the courage to tell you for years, but I never could! I only told you now because I'm fearing for our lives!"

"Look, we can talk about it later," Phineas said, cutting her off. "Right now we need to come up with a plan." He put the key in the ignition again and turned it. The engine turned over, but before he could shift into gear, Isabella reached over and turned the key off. She pulled out the key. "Hey! What are you doing?"

"No. We are not going to talk about it later. We aren't going anywhere until we talk about this," Isabella said.

Phineas held out his hand. "Come on, Isabella. We don't have time for this."

"No."

Phineas sighed. "Fine."

"Good. Now, how could not believe me!" Isabella practically screamed.

"Isabella-"

"I've been trying to get you to notice me for ten years! _Ten years_! And now I finally tell you and you laugh at me?!" Tears were streaming down her face.

Phineas shrank back in his seat. He had never once heard Isabella yell at him, or at anyone, like this. "Uh…I just don't understand how you could be in love with me. It doesn't seem plausible."

Isabella brushed the hair out of her watery eyes. "So you don't believe me?"

"Honestly? No, no I don't."

"Fine." Tears still moistening her cheeks, eyes closed, Isabella leaned over and kissed Phineas. He froze in surprise. "Believe me now?"

"I-I-I-I-I-I-I-"

Isabella sighed and buckled her seatbelt. Then she tossed the keys onto his lap. "Just drive."

It took a minute for Phineas to realize that she had given him back the keys. He finally picked them up and started the car again. He looked at Isabella one more time before shifting into reverse and carefully backing out of the drainpipe.

After checking to make sure the coast was clear, the Torino burst back into the sunlight. Phineas drove out of the ally and at the first opportunity, he headed out of the drainage channel and back onto the highway.

* * *

With one last bite of popcorn, Perry was free. He jumped out of the popcorn bag.

"Finally!" Doofenshmirtz exclaimed. "The charge is full!" Doof bent down to unplug the inator, and when he stood back up, Perry punched him.

**One more chapter, one last penultimate chase, and a Phineabella finale that is unlike anything I've written before. Plus, whatever happens with Perry and Doofenshmirtz.**


	16. Bonnie and Clyde Part 4

Bonnie and Clyde

Part 4

Phineas and Isabella made it back to Danville without further incident. Phineas exited the highway and drove through the city, and finally made his way through the suburbs. He turned onto Maple Drive.

"We'll head for my garage," he told Isabella. It was the first time either of them had said a word since their adventure in the drainpipe. "Hopefully, we can build something to counter the effects of the Xenon Isobutane."

"'Kay," Isabella replied half-heartedly.

Phineas turned onto Maple Drive, heading for the Flynn-Fletcher house. "Oh…that can't be good." Parked in the street was one of their friends' police cars, the one containing Katie, Ginger, and Milly.

"I was wondering where they were during that last chase," Isabella said.

Phineas put the car in reverse and floored the gas. The Torino shot backwards as Ginger and Milly opened fire. "Get down!" Phineas cried out as bullets began to ring out against the front and sides of the car. A few punctured the windshield, but it didn't shatter.

Phineas spun the car around and shifted into first gear again, accelerating away as Katie gave chase, guns still singing their song of death.

"So much for finding a solution at your house," Isabella quipped.

"Yeah…" Phineas threw the car into a right-hand drift-

-and found Django and Adyson blocking their path, weapons aimed.

"AAAHH!" Phineas turned the wheel hard left and drove right up a residential driveway, driving through the house's backyard and narrowly avoiding the neighbor's pool before crashing through a fence and driving through another side yard back onto the road.

"Could we try and stay on the road, please?" Isabella asked.

Phineas downshifted and turned right. "I can certainly try, but I'm not making any promises." The two police cars continued their pursuit.

* * *

"Perry the Platypus, that really hurt!" Perry shrugged as Doofenshmirtz stood up. "You know, I should just hit _you_ with the Movie-Villaininator! Then you'd always lose!" Doof grabbed the inator and spun it toward Perry. He pressed the "Fire" button.

Perry jumped to avoid the blast.

"Hold still, Perry the Platypus! I can't hit you if you keep moving around!" Doof fired rapidly, but Perry evaded him.

* * *

"Uh, Phineas…our situation is not improving."

"I'm doing my best here!"

All four police cars were on their tail now. Buford and Baljeet were riding in the back of Ferb and Irving's car and Buford had found an extra gun somewhere. While trying to avoid their friends, they had ended up on a road running along the back of the property owned by Danville Botanical Gardens.

Isabella looked over her shoulder at the cop cars. "They're catching up, Phineas…"

"My foot's on the floor!"

"Well, you're not going fast enough!"

Phineas juked left as Milly let loose a barrage of lead. "I think something got into the carburetor the last time we went off road! I'm not getting full power out of the engine!"

Django pulled up next to the them.

"Phineas…!"

Django turned hard left and slammed against the Torino. The wheel spun out of Phineas's hand. The Torino tore through the metal guardrail and slid down an embankment into the thick, lush trees and plants as three of the police cars screamed past. Ferb turned hard and followed them down the hill.

Phineas grabbed the wheel and fought for control, barely avoiding the trees. "Come on!" Finally, he slammed on the brakes. The Ford slid a distance in the loose top soil, but it slowed enough that Phineas was able to steer the car safely out of the trees onto a dirt walking path. "Whew! Got it!"

"Don't breathe easy yet!" Isabella yelled.

Ferb's police car slid out of the trees just behind them. Phineas accelerated hard again, jamming the stick into third gear. Irving and Buford, leaning out the windows for a better shot, opened fire.

"Hey, dweeb!" Buford yelled at Irving. "Aim for the tires!"

"Oh, good idea!"

Phineas quickly figured out where they were aiming and began to swerve back and forth to throw their aim, but there wasn't much room on the narrow path. One bullet eventually found it's mark.

"WHOA!" Phineas cried as the left rear tire blew out. He lost control and the Torino started to slide sideways in the dirt. He wrenched the steering wheel hard in the other direction, but overcorrected. The car turned just as they came upon a large rock in the middle of the walking path.

The side of the Torino smashed into the rock and flipped over into the air. Isabella screamed as the car barrel rolled and crashed back to earth, crumpling with each flip. Parts and pieces tore away from the car and sailed through the foliage. After five full flips, the rear of the Torino hit a massive tree beside the path and its momentum was broken. It fell to the ground and stopped, right side up.

Ferb slammed on the brakes just in time to avoid hitting the rock. The four teens quickly hopped out just as the big tree the airborne car had collided with fell over, blocking their path.

Phineas groaned in pain and turned to Isabella. He breathed a sigh of relief as she moved.

"Isabella! They're gonna be coming for us! We gotta move!" Phineas reached across and pushed open her door, which creaked on the bent hinges. "GO!"

Isabella grabbed the door frame and pulled herself out of the car, her teeth clenched in pain. Phineas quickly followed. She collapsed to the ground and let out a cry of agony. Phineas sank down next to her. "Phineas…my leg…I think it's broken…I can't walk…"

"We have to keep moving! I'll help you!" He started to stand up, stumbled and his legs folded beneath him. He put a hand to his head. "Whoa. I think I've got a concussion. I can't stand."

They stared at each other in silence for a few seconds. "So…this is how it ends," Isabella said as Phineas pulled himself over to her. They leaned against the wrecked Torino. "Murdered by our own friends."

"They just think they're doing their job," Phineas replied. "I don't blame them." He looked at Isabella. "I'm sorry, Isabella."

She groaned. "It's not your fault, Phineas. How were you supposed to know they would get exposed to Xenon Isobutane?"

"No, I meant I'm sorry that I hurt your feelings earlier. I…I was surprised. I panicked."

Isabella closed her eyes. She was in too much pain and too scared that she was about to die to be upset. "It's okay, Phineas."

"No, it's not. I should have just told you…"

She looked at him. "Told me what?"

He avoided her gaze. "I…I'm in love with you, too."

Isabella was shocked. "What? Since when?"

"Couple years."

"I don't understand. Why did you think I was joking?"

"To be honest, when I realized I was in love with you, I thought to myself, 'There's no way she'll ever love me back. She's just my friend.' I didn't think I was good enough for you." Phineas took a pained breath. His head felt like it was being pounded with a sledgehammer. "So when you said that…you love me…I was so surprised…I thought the only explanation was that you were joking."

"Phineas…" Isabella carefully slid closer and took his hand. "I really wish you'd told me sooner…"

"Me too."

They could hear their friends forcing their way through the foliage, and they could hear other voices, too. The other cars had found them.

"Well…we have a few seconds left…" Isabella sighed.

"We should make them count."

Phineas pulled Isabella to him and kissed her passionately. The kiss seemed to last forever, but it came to an end way too soon. They could now see their friends pushing their way through the trees and plants.

"Goodbye, Isabella," Phineas whispered, tears in his eyes.

"Goodbye, Phineas." She was crying, too.

Phineas wrapped his arms around Isabella and pulled her into a protective hug just as all of their friends simultaneously burst from the trees, guns aimed at their targets.

* * *

Perry dove forward, avoiding the red beams of energy. He kicked Doofenshmirtz's legs out from under him, and the evil scientist fell. But as he fell, his fingers brushed against the reverse switch.

"NO!" Doof yelled. Perry hit the self-destruct button. The inator whined. The overloaded power cells discharged one last shot that flew off the balcony, and then the machine exploded.

* * *

"Time to pay for your many heinous crimes," Ferb announced. "Fire!"

Phineas pressed his lips against Isabella's one last time as Buford, Irving, Adyson, Gretchen, Ginger, and Milly squeezed their respective triggers. At that exact moment, the semi-circle of pretend policemen were struck by a red ray of light from the sky.

The guns fired.

**I'm sorry, I know I said with was it, but there's gonna be one more short chapter, because I just could not resist a chapter break right there. **

**Poor Torino…**


	17. Bonnie and Clyde Part 5

Bonnie and Clyde

Part 5

The rounds struck. And they hurt. But…not nearly as much as Phineas thought they would.

"We finally gotcha!" Buford exclaimed. "Man, you guys are elusive!"

Phineas slowly opened his eyes and looked down at his wounds. Except there were no wounds. Just splotches of blue. "Wha…?" He loosened his hold on Isabella. She looked, too.

"Paint?" she said, surprised.

"Yeah! They're called paintball guns for a reason," Buford quipped. "What did you think we'd hit you with?"

"You were shooting at us with real guns!" Isabella cried.

"No, we weren't," Ginger returned, obviously confused.

"Yes, you were!"

"No, we weren't!"

"Yes, you were!"

Irving raised his hand. "Can I interrupt for a second? When did we get to…wherever it is we are, and where are we?"

"Wait, you don't remember?" Phineas asked.

"Remember what?"

"The chases? The shooting?"

Everyone shook their heads. "Nope," Milly said.

"What's the last thing you remember?" Phineas asked.

"Last thing I recall, Irving was suggesting that we split up," Katie said. "He said we should fan out and search for you guys, and then…I don't remember what happened after that."

"That's all I remember, too," Adyson concured.

Phineas and Isabella looked at each other.

"Did we miss something?" Baljeet asked.

"We'll fill you in later," Phineas said. "Right now, we need an ambulance. Isabella's got a broken leg and I'm fairly certain I have a concussion."

"Okay, I'm on it," Gretchen said, pulling out her cell phone. She headed into the trees in the direction of the parking lot.

"Right behind you!" Adyson called out, following Gretchen. The others did the same, all except for Ferb.

"Xenon Isobutane?" Ferb asked.

Phineas was surprised. "How'd you know?"

Ferb shrugged. "You two okay?"

Isabella looked at Phineas. He smiled at her. "We are. Thanks."

Ferb nodded with understanding and slowly backed into the trees, leaving the two alone.

Phineas and Isabella stared at each other silently for a few minutes, unsure what to say to each other. Just to break the silence, Isabella finally said, "Sorry about your car, Phineas."

"Ah, a little body work, a fresh coat of paint, it'll be good as new." He looked her in the eyes. "I'm just glad you're safe." He glanced at her broken leg. "You know, relatively speaking, anyway."

Isabella sighed. She leaned her head against Phineas's shoulder. "You were magnificent. Driving and all." She giggled. "You'd make a good criminal."

Phineas laughed, but quickly stopped and winced as a pain shocked his cranium. "Well, I had good motivation."

"The possibility of death?"

"Close…the possibility of _your_ death. If this had just been a game, I think we would have been caught."

Isabella took his hand. She sighed. "You're so modest. You're too good for me."

Phineas laughed. The sound of an ambulance siren could be heard in the distance. Phineas kissed her. "You're such a good friend. I knew there was a reason I fell in love with you." They kissed again. "So?"

"'So,' what?"

"How was it being a fugitive?"

"Kinda fun, actually, even with the constant threat of death."

"I thought so, too."

"We should never do it ever again."

"Agreed."

"Ngrgrgrgr." They both turned and watched Perry emerge from the bushes.

"Oh, there you are, Perry," they said together.

* * *

_An Unspecified Amount of Time Later…_

Isabella answered her phone. "Hello?"

_"Ready to go?"_

"Ready to go…where? Exactly?"

_"Does it matter?"_

"Good point. I'm coming." She hung up and rushed out the front door. Phineas was leaning against his fully restored 1970 Ford Torino, parked on the curb. She rushed into his arms. "Phineas! You got your car back!"

"Yup! Wanna go for a ride?"

"You know it!" She kissed him.

He opened the passenger door for her. "After you, Bonnie."

She giggled and climbed in. "Thank you, Clyde."

Phineas shut the door, ran around the car, and hopped in the driver's seat. The big engine roared to life on the first crank of the starter. "Where do you want to go?"

"Oh, it doesn't matter, as long as I'm with you…and as long as there's nobody shooting at us."

Phineas laughed. "Somehow, I had a feeling you'd say that." He leaned over and they kissed again. He put his hand on the shifter, and Isabella put her hand on top of his. Phineas grinned. "Now _this_…this feels right."

He revved the engine a few times, and then threw the Torino into gear. The car flew down the street, carrying its "outlaw" passengers off on a new adventure.

**I know, the ending was a little cheesy, but I could not come up with anything else.**

**Anyway, I don't know what the next story will be or when it will be because I don't have any new ideas for this. But, every time I think I'm out of ideas, I almost instantly come up with a new one. At least, that's usually what happens. We shall see. **

**Don't forget to shoot me a quick review! I love hearing what you guys think.**


	18. Phineas's Heartbreak

**I've been toying with the idea of this songfic for a while now, but I just couldn't find a way to make it work. I think I finally figured it out, but now it's not quite exactly a songfic anymore. Whatever.**

**Inspired by ****_Kissin' in the Rain_**** by Toby Keith.**

Phineas's Heartbreak

Everything was gray.

The beach was gray.

The sky was gray.

The lake was gray.

Even the Ford Torino parked a few yards up the beach had turned gray. The mirror-like finish reflected the sky and water so well that the cobalt blue car had turned a depressing shade of charcoal.

Phineas stared at the little rock in his hand and sighed. "_The rocks on this beach are the best skipping stones in the world,"_ Phineas thought. _That's what she always used to say…_ He pulled back his arm and flicked his wrist. The stone created a small splash and sunk. His technique was spot on, but the water was too choppy.

Phineas sighed. The wind was picking up, ruffling his red hair. Any minute now, the cloud-covered sky would open up. He leaned against the hood of the car. Days like these always left him feeling depressed.

From his pocket, Phineas removed his wallet. Inside was a snapshot that had been taken on this very beach a year earlier. The picture was of himself, Perry, and Isabella. The two teens, dressed in their bathing suits, had an arm around each other, holding Perry between them. They each had a wide, toothy smile and seemed to be looking at each other more than at the camera. Phineas had taken the picture holding the camera out at arm's length.

Phineas remembered the day well. He and Isabella had taken Perry to the lake for the day while their other friends (and Ferb) were busy. While it sounded like a good idea in theory, it turned out to be one of the most awkward days of Phineas's life.

Perry had disappeared as usual, leaving Phineas and Isabella all alone. And it was during that alone time that Phineas realized something: Isabella was completely infatuated with him. He'd almost never spent time exclusively with Isabella, and he figured that's why he had never noticed before. She spent the entire day batting her eyes and trying to hold onto him.

When he first realized it, Phineas was freaked out. This was his best friend! He honestly could not believe that she was so obviously in love with him. He ended up trying to keeping his distance from her for most of the day.

That is, until Perry eventually returned. No longer alone, Isabella was no longer all over him, and it gave Phineas a chance to think. He decided maybe her love wasn't such a bad thing. After all, he got along better with Isabella than any other girl he knew, including his own sister. He supposed it wouldn't be so horrible to be a little closer to Isabella.

Of course, he didn't let her know that. Instead, he laid with her on their beach towel for a while with his arm casually around her. He felt rather comfortable there with her. At some point, he'd snapped this picture, and he'd kept it in his wallet ever since.

Phineas removed the picture and returned his wallet to his pocket. He held the picture close to his face, remembering that day with Isabella. He felt like it should have made him smile, help bring him out of his funk.

But it didn't.

If anything, it made him feel worse. He closed his eyes tightly, as if in pain.

A sudden gust of wind blew the picture out of his grasp. Phineas quickly chased after it, but wasn't quick enough to grab it before it blew out over the lake and landed in the water. Phineas stared at it, his shoulders drooping. He felt defeated.

And as he stood there staring out over Danville Lake, the rain finally broke free of the clouds. It was no passing shower. Combined with the high winds, the deluge of rain was practically a hurricane.

This reminded Phineas of another day he'd spent on this beach with Isabella during that same summer. A much more painful memory forced its way into his head. And it started with a summer storm much like this one…

* * *

_Approximately One Year Earlier..._

Phineas jammed the Torino roughly into neutral and set the parking brake. He shut off the engine and left the keys in the ignition as he practically leapt from the car, slamming the door closed behind him. He ran full tilt onto the beach as the wind buffeted the surrounding trees and whipped the surface of the lake into a torrent. He collapsed onto a large rock on the beach, his head in his hands, not even trying to hold back the tears. There was no one to see him cry here.

Less than a minute later, another car pulled up and stopped beside Phineas's Torino. Isabella climbed out, the rough wind blowing her hair about wildly. "Phineas!" she cried out. "Phineas!"

Phineas did not look at her as she ran toward him. He didn't want to. He couldn't. He felt betrayed.

"Phineas…" Isabella was right behind him now. "Phineas, please…"

Phineas shook his head. "Why? Why, Isabella?"

"Phineas…"

He quickly spun around, and yelled at her, "Why wouldn't you tell me you were moving?! How could you spring this on me the night before you leave?"

Isabella looked down. "Phineas, I…I couldn't. I knew if I told you…it would ruin your whole summer. I didn't want to do that to you."

"Isabella, I don't care about that! How could you ever think for a second that _summer_ is more important to me than _you_?_ You_, my best friend since we were little kids?"

At that moment, the rain came, slowly at first, with growing intensity until it came down in a monsoon. They were both soaked to the skin almost instantly.

"I am really hurt that you didn't tell me!" Phineas shouted, ignoring the rain. He turned away and shut his eyes. "If that's all you think of me…then just go."

Isabella's raven hair was plastered to her face and her makeup began to run as she began to cry tears that rivaled the raindrops in size. "I'm sorry, Phineas…I…" She didn't know what to say. She knew she had screwed up. Phineas's words proved that. She turned and started to head back to her car. "…I'm sorry."

Phineas heard the pebbled beach crunch under her shoes as she began to walk slowly away. He couldn't believe that after everything they had been through together that she was just going to up and leave almost without telling him.

As he listened to the sound of Isabella's footsteps grow quieter, he began to think about the last few weeks. After his realization about her feelings on their trip to the beach, he had been thinking about her a lot. He spent a lot of time looking at her, too. And the more he thought about her on purpose, the more he found her involuntarily slipping into his thoughts.

And then one day he woke up and realized he was falling for her. He wanted nothing more than to hold her in his arms and whisper "I love you" in her ear.

But he never did.

He'd been trying to work up the courage to ask her to come to this very spot on Danville Lake, alone, to tell her what he was feeling. In fact, he was headed to her house that very evening to do just that. She met him halfway, right at the end of his driveway, and told him that tomorrow morning she would be packing up a moving truck and leaving for California.

So, Phineas had come here, where he knew no one would see him, to cry his eyes out. But, Isabella had found him.

Phineas turned around. It was dark and hazy, but a great flash of lightning lit up the sky, and he could see Isabella. She had almost reached her car. He stood. He ran. "Isabella!"

She slowly turned around. Phineas was racing toward her. "Isabella!"

When he reached her, he threw his arms around her and slammed his lips rather forcefully against hers as the thunder clap echoed across the lake. His momentum pushed her backwards right into the passenger door of the Torino. "I'm sorry, Isabella," he choked out through the tears. He kissed her again, with slightly less force but with just as much passion. When he broke off again, he brushed the soaked hair out of her face. "I love you, Isabella."

She said nothing. She just kissed back.

They stood there in the rain for a long time, drawing comfort from each other's embrace, ignoring the thunder and lightning that seemed to be getting closer with each passing moment. They refused to let go.

* * *

The next morning, Phineas, Ferb, Candace and their friends helped Isabella and her mother load their furniture and boxes neatly into the back of the moving truck. Phineas never spoke a word.

When it came time to say goodbye, Buford nearly crushed Isabella in a hug while he wept loudly. The others cried, Ferb gave her a few encouraging words, and Baljeet fainted when Isabella gave him a quick peck on the cheek. Finally, she reached Phineas.

He would not look at her. He said nothing. He shed no tears. But when he hugged her, Phineas would not release his grip until Mrs. Garcia-Shapiro called for Isabella to hurry up. Only then did he slowly let go, and he still refused to look at her.

She called goodbye and climbed into the car with her mother. The moving truck headed down the street and the car followed. As they drove past, Phineas and Isabella briefly made eye contact. Words could not describe the feelings that passed between them in that instant.

And then she was gone.

The gang watched the vehicles drive away until they were out of sight. Then they left, one by one, all except Phineas. He stood staring at the last place he had seen Isabella until the sun had sank below the horizon.

* * *

_Returning to the present..._

…The memory brought tears. Tears that slid slowly down his cheeks and forced Phineas to shut his eyes.

He would drive out here frequently and park his old Ford on the bank. He'd skip some stones. He stare at that picture in his wallet. But he would never speak. There was no one here worth speaking to.

Phineas walked back to his car. In the pouring rain, staring at the passenger door of the Torino, he could picture Isabella. He remembered the way she looked so well it was almost as if she was really there, standing before him, dark hair plastered to her face, drenched clothes clinging to her body in wrinkly, sagging folds, her makeup smeared and running. But to Phineas, she had never looked more beautiful.

Too bad it was just a memory.

**Okay, let the record show:**

**A. This is the first time that I have ever used the word "raven" to describe Isabella's hair. I just don't particularly care for that word and it seems like EVERYBODY on this site uses it.**

**B. This is the first time that one of my stories didn't have a happy ending. And I'm not counting any stories from ****_P&F Industries_**** because the ones that had rather unhappy endings were all "To be continued" and eventually (sometimes after several more stories) they were resolved. But, nope, this time, I think a happy ending would ruin the story. **

**Plus, this is actually a good ending. I don't mean a satisfying ending, I mean a well-written ending. It makes up for that cheesy epilogue at the end of ****_Bonnie and Clyde._**

**So…I wonder how many followers this is going to cost me…**


	19. Stealer of the Covers

**So I just cranked this out this morning while I was waiting for class to start.**

Stealer of the Covers

The first thing Phineas wondered was why he was so cold. The second thing he wondered was why it was so incredibly pitch dark. The rather large luminous face on his clock radio usually cast a soft glow just bright enough that he could see about half of the bedroom, but the glow was gone.

He sat up and looked around, shivering. Phineas realized that he was no longer covered by any of the sheets. Squinting in the darkness, he found them. They were all wrapped around Isabella, who lay next to him, sound asleep.

Phineas smirked. He didn't want to disturb her trying to recover his half of the covers, so he climbed out of bed and headed for the hall closet to grab an extra blanket. Glancing into the kitchen, he noticed that all of the little digital clocks on the stove, microwave, and toaster oven were off.

_Hmmm…power's out,_ he realized. _No wonder it's so cold in here._

He returned with a thick afghan and tossed it over himself as he climbed back into bed with Isabella. Once again wrapped in warmth, Phineas dozed back to sleep.

* * *

He woke up shivering again. He sat up quickly and turned over to face Isabella.

_Are you kidding me?_

The crocheted afghan that Phineas had retrieved from the closet was now wrapped around Isabella, too. She was barely visible under all the blankets and sheets. Only her contently smiling face and a few stray strands of her black hair poked out from the mountain of cotton and wool.

_Ha ha. She looks like an Eskimo._

He made a second trip to the hall closet and grabbed another blanket. As he returned, he saw a shadow move slowly across the floor. He smiled and bent down. "Oh, there you are Perry." He scooped up the platypus and carried him back to the bedroom.

He set Perry on the bed and then wrapped the blanket around himself before he laid back down. This way, he was laying on top of the blanket, too, so there should be no way that Isabella could purloin this cover. He pulled Perry inside the blanket with him, thinking the extra body heat would do them both some good. Isabella obviously didn't need any.

And soon, they both dozed off again.

* * *

Phineas's shivering woke him up for a third time.

_Seriously?_

He found that not only had Isabella somehow managed to steal this blanket away from him, too, but she was snuggled in with Perry, her arms lovingly wrapped around the platypus. Her sleeping face was creased by a rather smug smile.

_Alright, that does it._

Phineas poked her nose and she awoke with a start, though still bleary and half asleep. She smiled at him. "Hi, Phineas," she whispered. "Watchadoin'?"

Phineas folded his bare arms, which were covered with goose bumps. "You stole all the blankets," he told her indignantly. "_And_ Perry. Really? You can snuggle with Perry and keep _him_ warm, but not me?"

Isabella sat up and put her arm around Phineas, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. "I'm sorry, Phineas." She shivered. "Why's it so cold in here?"

"Power's out."

"Oh. Well, come on." She pushed him back down and unraveled the blankets, tossing them over both of them. She put Perry between them, then snuggled in close to Phineas and he wrapped his arms around her.

"Thank you," he said gently, and they shared a kiss before closing their eyes.

* * *

Phineas opened his eyes.

_Not again…_

Sure enough, Isabella had all the blankets again…and Perry. Phineas was left in the cold.

He shook his head in disbelief and stood up. He grabbed the top blanket and whipped it off of Isabella, who shot awake just in time to see him walking out of the room.

"Phineas…where you going?" she asked groggily.

"I'm sleeping on the couch. I'm gonna get hypothermia if I keep trying to sleep in here."

Isabella shrugged. "Okay…"

* * *

Finally warm and safe from the blanket thief, Phineas should have had no problem dozing off again. But he couldn't. Instead, he stared up at the ceiling, his mind wandering aimlessly. First he thought about what he could use to make an alternative power source for his home. Besides, not only would it come in handy at a time like this, but being "off the grid" would really cut down on the electric bill.

But, Phineas found that he was just too tired to focus on project plans. Instead, his mind wandered around until he found himself thinking about Isabella. _How the heck did she manage to get the covers off of me without waking me up?_ He grinned. She never ceased to amaze him.

Every day he loved her more. She was everything to him and he would do anything for her. As far as he was concerned, Isabella was perfect.

Phineas's smile faded as he realized that he still could not fall asleep. Keeping the blanket draped over his shoulders, Phineas got up and strolled over to the back door. There was just barely enough moonlight poking through the clouds to see that snow was piled up three feet high out back and it was still coming down hard. _Well…that explains why the power's out. _He leaned against the glass and watched it for a while.

He turned at a shuffling sound behind him. Isabella walked into the living room, also wrapped in a blanket. "Hi," she said sweetly, but with a lack of enthusiasm in her voice. She was obviously still dead tired.

"Hey. How come you're up?"

"Can't sleep."

Phineas almost laughed. "Really? All warm and toasty in your blanket cocoon and you can't sleep?"

She looked sheepish. "Yeah…" She looked out the window. "Wow. That's a lot of snow."

"Yup. Sure is."

She walked over to him and wrapped him in a hug. "Kinda reminds me of a certain night we spent together."

"Trapped in the Torino?" Phineas replied. "The day we took Perry to that animal hospital in Badgertown? The best night of my life? That night?"

"That night."

They stood there in silence with their arms around each other for a few minutes, just staring at the snow.

"Phineas?"

"Yes, Dear?" he said jokingly.

"I think I know why I couldn't sleep."

"Why's that?"

"Because you weren't there with me. I can't sleep without you."

Phineas smiled. "I couldn't sleep either. I'll bet for the same reason."

She tightened her hold on him. "I love you so much."

He kissed her and then sighed. "Well, now we have a problem. We can't both be warm unless we're apart, and neither of us can sleep unless we're together."

"We need to figure out a way for us to both sleep together, but in such a way that I can't steal the covers," Isabella observed. Her face lit up. "I have an idea."

She took Phineas's hand and led him back to the bedroom. After straightening the blankets and sheets, she climbed in. "Now you just lay on top of me and hold onto me so that my arms are pinned. Then I won't be able to steal the covers."

Phineas raised an eyebrow. "How are you going to breathe?"

Her grin vanished. "Hmm…I hadn't thought about that…"

Phineas put a finger to his lips in thought. He snapped his fingers. "I have a better idea. Quick, grab the blankets and follow me."

"Where are you going?"

Phineas smiled slyly. "Where to all of my ideas take me?"

She raised an eyebrow. "The backyard?"

"The _other_ place that all my ideas take me."

"The garage?"

"Yup!"

* * *

"Comfortable?"

"Yes, yes I am."

"How about you, Perry?"

"Ngrgrgr."

"Good. Maybe now we can _all_ finally get some sleep."

Isabella nuzzled her head against Phineas's chest. "Just like old times, huh?"

"Just like old times."

"Who would have thought the backseat of this car would be so comfortable?"

"It's not quite as romantic parked in the garage, but at least we have more blankets than we did last time."

The blankets wrapped tightly around both of them, they snuggled in a stretched-out sitting position in the backseat of the Ford Torino. Isabella and Phineas held onto each other the same way they had that night seven years ago, and Phineas didn't have to worry about having the air crushed from his lungs since Isabella wasn't actually on top of him, just against him. (She didn't weigh that much, anyway.) Perry was wrapped in a blanket of his own on the front seat.

"I don't care where we are, as long as I'm with you," Isabella told him.

"Yeah…"

They both closed their eyes and fell asleep, serenaded by the beating of each other's hearts.

**So this is sort of a companion story to "Snow" even though when I started writing it, it wasn't supposed to be. It just kinda happened that way. The title is a line from ****_She's Everything_**** by Brad Paisley. **


	20. 39 Special

**Before you say anything regarding the title of the chapter, I know that isn't the name of the band. I changed it for a reason. I don't own "So Caught Up in You." It belongs to 38 Special.**

**This story is part of the same timeline as "Don't Deny It," "It's Easy," and "Night Train," so just for the record, Phineas and Isabella are teenagers again and they're already boyfriend/girlfriend. It's the summer following "Night Train."**

"39 Special"

Phineas pulled up next to the curb in front of his house and parked the Torino. He was returning from buying milk for his mother at the QuickChek around the corner. He reached for the radio knob to turn the volume down before switching off the ignition, but stopped as a new song started.

"Oh, this is a great song!"

Instead of turning it down, he cranked the volume up. As the music built up, he swayed back and forth in time with the beat, tapping the steering wheel and bouncing up and down in the seat. Phineas knew the lyrics, so, not caring who might hear him through the open windows of the Torino, he began to sing at the top of his lungs.

"I never knew there'd come a day!…When I'd be sayin' to you! Don't let this good love slip away!…Now that we know that it's true!"

Puberty had not been kind to Phineas's singing voice. His vocal chords strained and his voice cracked when he hit high notes.

"Don't!…Don't you know the kind of man I am? No! Said I'd never fall in love again! But it's real and the feeling comes shinin' through…!"

* * *

Isabella was lying on a deck chair out back by her pool, reading a book, when suddenly she heard music blasting. It seemed to be coming from right across the street. She closed her book and stood up.

"Don't tell me the boys are having a party and they didn't invite me!" She rushed around the house through the side yard. "Actually…maybe Mrs. Flynn's having a party. It doesn't sound like Phineas and Ferb's kind of music. But I can't imagine she'd be blasting the music that loudly."

Isabella rounded the house and peered across the street. Neither the Flynn-Fletcher house, nor their backyard, seemed to show signs of any major activity. But, she could definitely tell where the music was coming from. Her brow furrowed in confusion and her mouth pulled into an amused grin as she walked across the street toward Phineas's Torino.

As she got closer, she could hear forced singing that sort of sounded like Phineas over the blasting stereo. "I'm so caught up in you!…Little girl! And I never did suspect a thing! So caught up in you!…Little girl! That I never wanna get myself free!"

Isabella stopped beside the car. Phineas couldn't see her; he had his eyes closed as he belted out the lyrics. He was nodding his head quickly with the beat and was playing air guitar. Since he actually knew how to play the instrument, had someone slipped a guitar between his hands he would probably have started strumming the chords perfectly in sync with the music.

The next line was incredibly high, and Phineas's voice cracked so badly that he sounded like a dying cat. "And baby it's true! You're the one! Who caught me! Baby! You taught me! How good it could beeeeee!"

Isabella giggled as Phineas drummed on the steering wheel. "Uh, whatchadoin', Phineas?"

Without even opening his eyes to look at her and without skipping a beat in the song, he quickly said, "Singin' about you." As he picked up the lyrics again, he climbed from the car.

"It took so long to change my mind! I thought that love was a game!" He took Isabella by the hands and led her around the Torino onto his front lawn. He started dancing around haphazardly with swoopy motions that wouldn't exactly have gained high marks from a contest judge. It didn't matter. He succeeded in making Isabella laugh. She giggled at the silly fun.

"I played around enough to find!…No two are ever the same! You made me realize the love I'd missed! So hot! Love I couldn't quite resist! When it's right…the light just comes shinin' throooouuugh!"

Phineas spun Isabella around and caught her in a loving embrace. He looked into her eyes and sang the chorus again, an extremely goofy expression on his face as his voice struggled through the lyrics. "I'm so caught up in you! Little girl! You're the one whose got me down on my knees! So caught up in you! Little girl! That I never wanna get myself free! And baby it's true! You're the one!…Who caught me! Baby! You taught me how good it could beeeeee!"

Phineas didn't continue signing. He smiled at Isabella. "And I mean every word."

Before he could start singing bloody murder again, Isabella leaned forward and caught his lips with hers. He kissed back, squeezing her tightly, but broke off after the musical climax to pick up the lyrics again.

"And if ever! Comes a day! When you should turn and walk awaaaay, oh no!…I can't live without youuuuu! I'm so caught up in you! Little girl! You're the one that's got me down on my knees!"

As he sang that last line, Phineas dropped to his knees in the grass, dragging Isabella down with him. He swung his arms around the back of her neck.

"So caught up in you! Little Girl! That I never wanna get myself free! And baby it's true! You're the one! Who caught me! Baby! You taught, baby, you taught me how good it could beeeeee!"

He ignored the last repetition of the lyrics as he pressed his lips against his girlfriend's. They fell over into the grass without breaking apart and kissed until the song was over.

Isabella smiled lovingly at Phineas. "Now that was special."

"Was it…" Phineas grinned slyly in return. "…38 special?"

She laughed. "Oh, I'd say it was at least 39 or 40 special."

Laughing, Phineas raised an eyebrow. "That doesn't make any sense."

"Who cares?"

"Good point."

A voice from the porch interrupted their moment. "Phineas Flynn! Turn that radio down before someone complains to the police!"

"Sorry, mom."

Phineas stood and helped Isabella to her feet.

"And where's my milk?"

"Just a second, mom."

Joined at the hands, the two friends walked back to the Torino. Phineas reached inside and removed the keys from the ignition before grabbing the gallon of milk off the floor.

As they headed back to Phineas's house, Isabella leaned her head on Phineas's shoulder. "Know any more songs?"

"Yes…but not for at least half an hour because my throat is killing me now."

Isabella looked at him and smirked. "Oh, you poor thing. Let me see what I can do to help you with that."

"Does that mean…?"

"You know it does."

Phineas pumped his fist in the air. "Yes!"

**Shoot me a review if you've got a second.**


	21. How Not to Ask Someone to Prom-1

**Hey, everyone! Sorry this one took so long, but I just could not come up with a new Phineabella plot.**

**Since this is my most popular story, I'd love to have a better cover for it, and since I have absolutely no artistic talent, I want to know if there's anyone out there on DeviantArt who would be willing to draw one for me. Basically, I want teenaged Phineas and Isabella standing beside the Ford Torino. And, since the panel is kind of small, you're more than likely not going to have to draw the entire car, but it has to be identifiable as a 1970 Ford Torino. I'll find a picture of the right car for you to work from. If you'd be willing to draw this, PM me, I'll give you some more detail about specifically what I want.**

**Thanks!**

**Anyway, this story is the result of me being completely out of ideas and trying to come up with something that I haven't already done. But, you know…with the Ford Torino in it somehow. This story is in no way connected to any of the previous stories, but it will be in multiple parts, at least three or four, depending.**

**Time period: It's the gang's senior year.**

How Not to Ask Someone to Prom - Part 1

It wasn't difficult to figure out what event was coming up. Isabella knew even without the banners announcing it every time she walked into Danville High. For one thing, she had helped make those banners. Adyson had broken her arm hanging them. But Isabella knew even before she'd joined the planning committee. She'd had the date circled on her calendar since she was a freshman. She'd actually made herself a calendar that stretched four years ahead just so she could put a circle around that date and count down the days.

May 18th: The senior prom.

Long had Isabella fantasized about this day. She dreamt of wearing a shimmery dress, pulling up in a rented limo, slowly swaying across a dance floor with Phineas as her date, gazing into each other's eyes, leaning in for a kiss as the last slow song of the night ended…

Maybe she did more than daydream. She had the entire evening planned out in her head. There was only one thing that could ruin it.

What if Phineas didn't ask her to the prom?

In the past, the only time Phineas had asked her on anything even resembling a date was when he took her for ice cream on her eleventh birthday, and even that he'd meant for Ferb to come, too. On every other occasion that she and Phineas had done something date-like, not only had Phineas not realized it was a date, but she'd had to ask him.

Isabella had considered this, and she was discussing it with Adyson one morning as they waited by their lockers for class for start.

"I've had the entire night planned out practically since I found out what the prom _was_," Isabella said. "But what if he doesn't ask _me_ to go? The whole thing will be ruined for me."

Adyson clawed at the cast on her left arm, unsuccessful in her attempts to scratch the itch beneath. "Grrrrrrrr…I hate this cast. Isabella, you have to stop worrying."

Isabella pulled a pencil from her backpack and handed it to Adyson, who immediately slid it under her cast and started scratching. "How can I stop worrying? This is only about the most important thing that happens during high school!"

"You mean besides getting good grades and applying to colleges, of course."

Isabella placed a hand on the back of her neck. "Yeah…But that's not even what I meant. I mean the senior prom is the most important thing to do with relationships to happen in high school."

Adyson handed back the pencil. She was getting a bit tired of this conversation. It was not the first time they'd had it. "Well, as much as I hate to tell you this, there is nothing you can do, Sweet Cheeks," she said sarcastically.

Isabella turned and looked down the hallway. Phineas's locker was near the end of the hall, and through the crowd of students she could see him there, chatting with Ferb and Baljeet. She turned back to Adyson. "Maybe I should just ask him. That would certainly solve all the worrying."

"You can't do that. Everybody knows it's the guy's job to ask the girl."

"Oh, come on, Adyson. It's not the 70's anymore. Times have changed." She looked at Phineas again. "Besides, I have to make sure another girl doesn't get to him first."

"Like who?"

"Like that girl in third period."

"You mean Abigail?" Adyson thought for a moment. "You're right. Ask him. Ask him now."

Isabella turned one more time, spotted Phineas…and sandwiched herself against the lockers as he turned her way. "I can't. I'm scared."

Adyson tried to cross her arms in disgust, but it didn't exactly work with the cast restricting her movements. "I am very disappointed in you. You, who bungee jumped out of an airborne van to grab a maraca nut tree from the top of a derelict amusement park ride, is afraid to ask a boy to the prom."

"What if he says no? What if he laughs at me? What if Ferb and Baljeet laugh at me? What if everybody laughs at me? What if the earth explodes?"

Adyson rolled her eyes. "You know who you sound like right now? Candace."

"True dat," another voice behind them said.

Adyson and Isabella whipped around and found Buford standing behind them, munching on a granola bar.

"Buford? What're you doing here?" Isabella asked. "Why aren't you hanging out with Phineas, Ferb, and Baljeet?"

Buford shrugged and spoke nonchalantly. "I was down at the C-Hall boys room, giving the freshman nerds their daily wedgies." He ripped another hunk out of his granola bar, chomping noisily.

His sudden presence gave Isabella an idea that would allow her to, at least temporarily, avoid asking Phineas to the prom. After all, before she rushed off to ask him to be her date, she had to make sure he wasn't planning on asking her…or somebody else. "Say, Buford…as long as you're here, do you think you could do me a favor?"

Chomp. "What kind of favor?"

"Do you think you could find out what Phineas's plans for the prom are?"

Buford raised an eyebrow. "What exactly do you mean by 'plans'?"

"Like…" Isabella swayed on her feet, acting as innocently as possible. "Oh, I don't know…if he's planning on asking anyone to go with him?"

Chomp. "Hmmm…what's in it for me?"

Isabella shrugged. "I don't know…what do you want?"

Chomp. Buford pointed at Adyson. "How about you go to the prom with me?"

Adyson frowned at him. "I think you're forgetting that I have a boyfriend."

"Django doesn't count if he isn't in the country."

"He's doing landscape paintings with his dad in Alaska."

"Exactly. He's out of the country."

Isabella pulled her United States History textbook from her backpack and flipped through the pages. She pushed the book under Buford's nose and pointed to the lines of text as she read aloud: "After being purchased from Russia for $7.2 million dollars in 1867, Alaska was finally admitted to the Union on January 3rd, 1959, becoming the 49th state." She closed the book. "Django might not currently be in the _continental_ United States, but he's still in the country."

"Not only that, but he'll be back in a few days, in time for the prom," Adyson added.

Buford put a finger to his chin and thought carefully. "Alright, fine. How about this. Since Adyson refuses, while I find out what Phineas is up to, you find me a date for the prom. Because I'm not having any luck on my own. We'll meet by the flag pole after school and exchange information for my date."

Without any hesitation, Isabella grabbed Buford's hand and shook it. "Deal."

Buford finished his granola bar and tossed the wrapper over his shoulder. He raised one arm heroically. "I shall not fail!" Then he spun on his heel and headed down the hallway toward the guys.

Isabella looked at her watch. "We've still got a few minutes before class starts," she said. "We'd better start searching for a date for Buford now."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Adyson interrupted, waving her uninjured arm and shaking her head. "What do you mean 'we'? Why am I getting sucked into this?"

"Come on, Adyson, I can't do this alone! There's a lot of kids that go to this school, and at least half of them are girls!"

"According to Danville's population demographic, exactly half should be girls." Adyson sighed. "Alright, fine. I'll help you. But only because I am really sick of listening to you sigh dreamily every time you see Phineas and then never do anything about it."

Isabella grabbed Adyson by her uninjured arm and started dragging her down the hallway. "You're the best, Adyson! Now come on! We've got a lot of girls to cover and not much free time to do it in."

Adyson sighed again and muttered under her breath. "This is going to be a long day, isn't it?"

* * *

Six and a half hours later (give or take 15 minutes) Isabella and Adyson made their way to the flag pole in front of the school, waiting for Buford. He eventually emerged from behind a nearby tree, dressed in a trench coat, dark sunglasses, and a fedora.

"Psst. Hey," he whispered loudly, looking around as if afraid he'd be spotted. "You got the stuff?"

"What in the world are you doing, Buford?" Adyson asked.

He removed his sunglasses. "Finally gettin' some use out of my 'shady guy with sensitive information' costume."

Isabella raised a confused eyebrow. "Why do you have that costume?"

"I have a lot of get-ups for specific situations. Now, let's get down to business. Which lovely lady am I going to the prom with?"

Isabella sighed. "Buford, we tried. We literally asked every girl in school, but none agreed to go with you."

"Ah ha! I knew it! I knew you didn't care enough to really try!"

"Buford…" Isabella looked slightly embarrassed. "We really _did_ ask _every_ girl in school."

"We made a list," Adyson said, handing him several sheets of paper. "We kept track of every girl we asked and wrote down their responses."

Buford thumbed through the pages, reading some of the things the girls had said. "'Not even if you paid me,' 'Not in this lifetime,' 'Not in a million years…' ooh! Beth said 'Maybe if he was the last boy on earth.' That's about the closest I've ever gotten to 'yes.'" He looked back at the girls. "Alright, I give you props for trying. I didn't really expect you to succeed. But you owe me one now."

"Of course," Isabella said.

"I'm gonna hold you to it, too. I'd like to have that 'Of course' in writing."

Isabella took the papers from him and turned them over to the back of the last page, then pushed them back into his hands. Buford read the short note scribbled there. "'I owe you one. Signed, Isabella Garcia-Shapiro.'" He folded the pages and placed them in one of the deep pockets in the trench coat. "Good enough for me."

"Time to hold up you're end of the deal," Isabella demanded.

"Don't worry. Van Stomms always hold up their prospective end of bargains. We even have a song about it." In a split second, he'd swapped his fedora for a tall top hat. "_Wellllllll…"_

Adyson lashed out and knocked the top hat from Buford's head. Isabella grabbed the fedora from where he'd dropped it on the ground on pushed it over Buford's eyes. "We don't want to hear the song. Just tell me about Phineas," Isabella said.

"Are you sure? The 'Van Stomms Always Hold Up Our Prospective End Of A Bargain' song has a great Coda."

"We're sure," Adyson practically growled.

"Fine. But you don't know what you're missing…"

"Yes, we do…" Isabella returned.

"Okay, it went something like this…horizontal divider and switch to italics for narration…"

* * *

_"Ah that's better. So I was eating lunch with the guys, like always, and Baljeet was rambling on about something to do with his plans for the prom…"_

"…so Ginger had to go back and have the dress altered for the third time," the Indian boy was saying.

"Boy, sounds like you guys had quite an adventure."

Baljeet rested his head in his hand and prodded at his salad with his plastic fork. "Yup. Being Ginger's boyfriend is a nonstop thrill ride. Can we please talk about something else?"

_"Baljeet wanted to change the subject and ended up doing all the work for me."_

"How about you, Phineas? Do you have anything planned for the prom?"

"Like what?"

"I do not know! That is why I am asking!"

_"I took that as an opportunity to interject my own question."_

_"_"Yeah, Dinner Bell. Who ya askin' to go with ya?" _I said."_

_"Okay, Buford you can stop with the narration."_

_"Aw, but I like narrating."_

_"Then keep it to a minimum."_

_"Fine. Now where was I? Oh, right, Phineas's response to my question."_

Phineas took a bite of his sandwich and swallowed before replying. "Oh, I don't know. Gretchen somehow roped me into giving her and Ferb a ride there, and I'm sure at some point during the night, I'll get an idea and say, 'I know what I'm gonna do tonight,' and rush off to build something cool for everyone to enjoy. I'd hate to have a date to leave behind on her own, so I think I'm just gonna fly solo."

The second half of Phineas's statement was lost on Buford. "You're driving Ferb and Gretchen to the prom? Wha's a matter, Ferb? Too cheap to rent a limo?"

"No," Ferb said. "Gretchen just really likes Phineas's Torino."

"That does not at all seem to fit Gretchen's personality," Baljeet added.

"Well, the author needed a way to work it in."

_"Phineas isn't planning on asking anyone?" _

_"Yup."_

_"Alright! That's great!"_

_"But that's actually not the end of the story. I think you'll be interested in what happened next."_

"Really? You are not going to ask anyone to the biggest dance of our school careers?" Baljeet asked.

"Nah."

"Not even Isabella?"

_"Baljeet asked that! What the heck?! I'm gonna kill him!"_

_"Don't you want to hear what Phineas said first?"_

_"Yes, I want to hear what Phineas said!"_

"Hmm…I suppose if Isabella was my date and I went to build something, she could help me…but I wouldn't want to do that to her. I'm sure she doesn't want to spend the prom working on some construction project. Besides, I'm sure there's plenty of guys in this school who want to ask her to the prom. I hang out with her all the time, I can share her for a night."

_"He actually said that? Wait, is that the end?"_

_"Yeah."_

_"Can we get out of the flashback so we can get out of italics?"_

_"Sure."_

* * *

Isabella sat down in the grass, clutching her knees to her chest. "Phineas doesn't want to go to the prom with me? Then that means…"

Adyson crouched down and put her arm around Isabella, a small smile on her face. "I think you're missing something really important here. Phineas isn't going to ask anyone to the prom."

Isabella lifted her head. "Hey…you're right! Even if Phineas doesn't reciprocate my feelings, I can at least go to the prom with him and have one great night!"

"We have to make sure we think this through. You have to come up with a way of asking him that will give him no choice but to say 'yes.'"

"Uh, girls?" Buford said. They had forgotten he was standing there. "Do I still need to be here?"

"No, no you don't." Isabella stood up. "You're free to go. Thank you very much for your help, Buford." She gave him a quick hug.

"Hey, hey, hey!" he said, quickly backing out of her grasp and smoothing out his trench coat. "Don't forget, you still owe me one."

Isabella laughed. "Don't worry, I won't forget."

"You better not. Now, if we're done here, I have to go see a guy about a '65 Impala."

"Geez, what is it with this author and cars?" Adyson exclaimed.

"I don't know! It's getting a little annoying even though I really want that Impala. Damn it!"

Buford left, muttering under his breath.

Isabella went back to thinking. "Now let's see…What's the best way to ask Phineas to prom?"

"Well, based on how crazy this author is about cars combined with the title of the story, I could probably take a guess what's going to happen here."

"What?"

"Nothing. I didn't say anything."

"Hmm…" Isabella snapped her fingers as an idea popped into her head. "I've got it! It's not very original, but I think it'll get his attention. Now, here's what we'll do…"

**This is one of the best things I've written in a long time. It seems like lately when I write stuff, it just doesn't come out the way I want it to and it seems juvenile. **

**I'm really excited to include Adyson as a main character in this story. I really like her and she doesn't really have much screen time, but even for the little amount of screen time she's had, she's built up a lot of personality. I hope you are all enjoying Adyson's role as much as I am.**

**Don't worry, this story isn't going to have a lot to do with cars, I just couldn't resist those couple of fourth wall gags. Only the recurring Torino appears, and even that is only in it for, like, one short part. Don't get me wrong, the part it's in is critical to the plot, but it's not another story of mine based around cars.**

**Anyway, please review and the next chapter should be way quicker than the last.**


	22. How Not to Ask Someone to Prom-2

**Alright! Part 2! This is definitely one of the best story idea I've had in a long time because it practically wrote itself.**

How Not to Ask Someone to Prom - Part 2

The next day, the AV club had a short meeting immediately after school, and since Phineas and Ferb attended, Isabella and Adyson took the opportunity to head out to the school parking lot.

"I really thought you were better than this, Isabella."

"Why do say that?"

"Because at least a dozen guys asked a girl to the prom this exact say way."

"So? I know for a fact this will get Phineas's attention."

Adyson sighed, something that she'd been doing a rather lot lately. "Whatever. Let's just do it quick before the meeting ends."

They headed for the spot where Phineas had parked his blue Ford Torino that morning. Typically, the parking lot cleared out pretty quickly once school ended, so it wasn't difficult to pick out among the few remaining cars. They each had a window marker which they extracted from their pockets and uncapped. Looking around to make sure no one was watching, they set to work.

Isabella began scrawling _Will you go to prom with me?_ on the hood, while Adyson added swirly decorations to the side and rear windows.

About five minutes later, Adyson gasped. Through the windows, she could see Phineas, Ferb, and Gretchen exiting the school and heading toward the parking lot.

"Isabella, they're coming!"

"Man, that was a really short meeting! I'm not done yet!" Her message on the hood currently read _Will you go to prom wi_

Adyson grabbed Isabella's arm and dragged her away from the Torino. "Oh well, Phineas is pretty smart, I think he'll figure it out. Come on!"

They ran out of the parking lot before the brothers or Gretchen could notice them and hid behind a nearby hedge.

Phineas, Ferb, and Gretchen were walking casually and it took them a few minutes to reach the parking lot. When Phineas saw his car, his jaw dropped and he fell silent.

"Uh, Phineas? Are you okay?" Gretchen asked.

"What…what happened to my car?"

She glanced at it. "In my unprofessional opinion, I'd say someone is asking you to the prom."

Phineas didn't even hear her. He jogged up to the Torino. "No…no, no, no." He whipped around to face Ferb and Gretchen. "How could somebody do this to my car?"

"Phineas, calm down," Gretchen said. "It's not paint, just a window marker. It'll come off with a little water."

"But I can't wash it here in the parking lot!" Phineas pulled out a handkerchief and began massaging the windows, trying desperately to get off the marker, but to no avail.

Isabella and Adyson were listening carefully from their hiding place. They shared a nervous glance. They hadn't expected Phineas to freak out about it.

Gretchen looked confused. "Just wash it when you get home."

"You don't understand! Nobody can see it like this!"

"Why not?"

"First of all, it's a classic."

"So?"

Ferb answered for Phineas in the way only Ferb can. "One does not simply write on a classic car."

"Exaclty," Phineas said. "Secondly, I'm part of the Danville Classic Car Club, and if anyone sees it like this, they'll kick me out!"

"Why would they do that?"

"Because this is a violation of rule #4."

"Which is…?"

Phineas stopped rubbing the window just long enough to fish a sheet of paper from his backpack, which he handed to Gretchen.

"'Danville Classic Car Club Rules,'" she read aloud. "' Violation of any of these rules will result in immediate dismemberfication.'" She raised an eyebrow. "If that even a word?"

"It's a Hot Rod Association, not a linguist organization."

"Right." She scanned down the list of rules. "'Rule number 4: Bumper stickers, magnets, antenna toppers, window markers, and window decals do not make your classic car any cooler, only tackier. They are forbidden.' Huh."

Ferb looked over her shoulder. "Some of these rules are really specific," he noted. "Like number 14. 'If given the opportunity, one should never back down from a drag race at a stop light, especially against Honda Civics with giant, unnecessary spoilers.'"

Isabella watched as the boy she so loved frantically tried to clean off his car. He hadn't even noticed the message, only the marker. She looked at Adyson. "I think we've made a big mistake."

"No kidding."

Isabella sighed. "Come on. We'd better go help him."

Trying to act casually, they emerged from behind the bush and strolled over to Phineas, Ferb, and Gretchen.

"Hey, Phineas. Whatchadoin'?" she asked, trying to mask her nervousness.

He didn't even look at her. "Trying to clean my car off!"

Pretending that she hadn't heard the entire explanation he'd given Gretchen, she asked, "Why?"

"So I don't get kicked out of the D Triple-C."

"Huh?"

"Danville Classic Car Club," Adyson whispered to her.

"Right."

"I think those markers come off with a little water," Adyson said. "Why don't I run inside and ask the janitor if we can borrow a bucket and some rags?"

"Yes! Good idea! Go!"

Slightly taken aback by Phineas's bluntness, Adyson started to head back to the school. "Come on, Isabella."

"No!" Phineas suddenly yelled, much louder than he'd intended. Everyone stared at him and he felt a bit embarrassed. "Sorry. Adyson, you go. Isabella, you stay here and help us."

"Help you do what?"

"Stand in front of the car and shield it so it can't be seen from the road."

So, as Adyson ran back into the school, Phineas, Ferb, Isabella and Gretchen blocked the car from view. They stood in silence, and Isabella was left alone with her thoughts. She felt bad. She knew writing the message on Phineas's car would definitely get his attention, but she hadn't considered that he might not like the girly décor she'd added.

But, at least standing here with him gave her the opportunity to ask him what he thought of the message itself.

"So, who asked you to prom, Phineas?"

"Huh?"

"The message? On the hood?"

"Oh…" He turned around and looked at the hood. "I didn't even read what it said. I don't know. There's no name."

Isabella was mentally kicking herself as she asked the next question. "If you knew who it was, would you have said 'yes'?"

Phineas actually clenched a fist. "I don't know, but if I ever find out who wrote on my car…" He ended the sentence there, not having a legitimate threat to back it up with.

Isabella dropped the conversation.

Adyson returned with a bucket of water and a few rags a minute later and the five of them set to work wiping down the old Ford, carefully removing the florescent colored marker.

"Thank you guys so much for helping me," Phineas said with a relieved sigh when they were finished. "You're the best friends a guy could have."

"Heh heh. Yeah…" Isabella said, rubbing the back of her neck and trying not to look at Phineas.

They all piled in and drove home to Maple Drive. Phineas, Ferb, and Gretchen said goodbye to Isabella and Adyson when they parked and they split up. The brothers went to their home with Gretchen in tow, and Adyson followed Isabella to the Garcia-Shapiro home across the street.

When they had dropped their backpacks on Isabella's bedroom floor, Isabella collapsed into her computer chair and let out an exasperated groan. "I honestly thought that was a good idea," she said. "Remember in the fall when Gretchen decorated her whole car like that for homecoming? Phineas said he liked it."

Adyson scratched under her chin in thought. "I think the difference is that Gretchen drives a slightly rusty Hyundai Sonata, not a 40-year old 'classic' that she restored herself that was featured in a magazine last year."

"Good point. I hadn't thought of that." Isabella sat up and stretched. "Come on. We'd better get going on our homework."

Half an hour and two dozen statistic problems later, Adyson suddenly asked, "So what are you going to do now?"

"I think U.S. History next."

"No, I mean about Phineas."

Isabella froze. "Oh. I…uh…I don't know." She shrugged. "I'll think of something. This time, nothing quite so drastic. Something simpler…"

* * *

The next morning, Adyson found herself practically running through the halls trying to keep up with Isabella. "I take it you have a plan?"

"Yup."

"Could we slow down a little? The floor is still wet and I don't want to break my other arm."

"Can't. Gotta get to Phineas's locker before he does." As they darted around a group of chattering sophomores, Isabella reached into her pocket and pulled out a folded sheet of paper.

"What's that?" Adyson asked.

"You'll see."

They finally reached Phineas's locker. Adyson slid on the slick tile and would have fallen flat on her face if there hadn't been lockers to smash her nose against and break her momentum. "Yah!"

Isabella didn't seem to notice. She unfolded the paper and held it up so Adyson could see it. All that was written there was the short message, "Phineas: Will you go to prom with me? -Isabella."

"What exactly are you going to do with that?" Adyson asked as she gently felt her nose to make sure it wasn't broken.

Isabella folded it back up. "Slide it through the slats." She did just that, but didn't push it through all the way. She left a corner barely sticking out so that it hung in the inside of the door. "If I leave it just like that, Phineas will see it there when he opens the locker."

"Oh, that's a good idea. Simple. Understated. You got a tissue? My nose is bleeding like a faucet."

* * *

The girls stood by Isabella's locker and scanned the other end of the hallway, waiting for Phineas to show up. Adyson held a wadded up tissue to her nose, trying desperately to stop the bleeding.

"Are you sure you don't need to go to the nurse?" Isabella asked.

"Uh-huh. I've lost so much blood in my lifetime, it doesn't even bother me anymore."

Finally, Phineas arrived. "There he is!"

Phineas was not accompanied by Ferb, Buford and Baljeet as usual. He was alone, and based on his stride, he appeared to be in a hurry. He quickly input his combination and yanked the door open. Even from this distance, Isabella could see her letter fall from the slat and fall to the floor. Phineas hurriedly grabbed one textbook and slammed the locker shut again, then turned and walked quickly away.

"He didn't see it," Adyson stated simply.

Isabella snapped her fingers. "Darn it!"

They made their way down the hallway and Isabella retrieved her note from the floor. She stared at it for a moment, deep in thought. When she looked up, she noticed Baljeet squeezing through the crowd, coming toward them.

"Time for Plan C."

"You already have a Plan C?"

"I don't mess around when it comes to love, Adyson." Then she called: "Oh, Baljeet!"

Adyson raised an eyebrow. "Baljeet?"

The Indian boy reached them. "Good morning, Isabella, Adyson," he greeted warmly.

"Hi, Baljeet," Isabella said. "Do you think you could do me a little favor?"

"Sure."

She handed him the folded up paper. "Can you give this to Phineas when you see him at lunch?"

"Of course."

"Thanks, Baljeet."

Without another word, Baljeet continued on down the hall.

Adyson chucked her bloodied tissue into a nearby trash can and then squinted at Isabella. "You're asking a lot of favors of people lately, huh?"

Isabella shrugged. "At least Baljeet doesn't ask for anything in return. And are you aware that your nose is still bleeding and that it's dripping onto your shirt?"

Adyson looked down at her shirt. "Aw, man." She felt under her nose with two fingers. They came away smeared with blood. "Aw, man!"

* * *

"Hey, Baljeet!" Phineas greeted as the Indian boy arrived at the lunch table and sat down.

"Hello, my friends." He reached into his pocket and retrieved the folded up paper. "Here, Phineas. Isabella asked me to give this to you."

"Oh, cool." Phineas unfolded it. A look of confusion crossed his triangular face. "Uh, Baljeet?" He held up the paper so Baljeet could see it. "This is your math homework."

"What?!" He snatched the paper. "But if this is my homework, then what did I do with…? Oh no!"

* * *

Mr. Jenkins wrote a big "89" in red ink at the top of Kevin McGrew's homework, placed it on top of the finished pile, and recorded the score in his grade book. He took the next paper from the pile of ungraded papers. He squinted at it.

"'Phineas, will you go to prom with me?'" he read aloud. "What the heck?"

He crumpled up the paper and discarded it.

* * *

Baljeet fainted.

Phineas and Ferb quickly ran around the table and scooped their friend up off the floor. "Are you okay, Baljeet?"

Baljeet picked up a plastic fork from the table and held it out to Phineas. "Please kill me with this fork so that I may restore my honor."

* * *

Isabella banged her fist against her locker. Baljeet had just finished explaining to her what had happened.

"Geez, Isabella, don't hurt yourself," Adyson said.

Isabella turned around. "You're right. No point in getting worked up. Besides, it's time for Plan D."

"Oh, no you don't! Three strikes and you're out."

Isabella didn't follow. "Huh?"

"You've failed three times. Now it's my turn."

"But you have a date."

Adyson face palmed. "I'm not going to ask Phineas to the prom! I'm gonna come up with a plan for _you_ to ask him."

"Oh. Okay."

Adyson spread her fingers and grinned in anticipation. "Okay, here's what you do. Ready?"

Isabella nodded.

"You walk up to him, and in a clear voice you say, 'Wanna go to the prom with me, Phineas?' and he'll say, 'Sure, Isabella,' and then we'll all live happily ever after."

Isabella narrowed her eyes at Adyson. "How about no?"

"Fine. Plan D. You think Phineas knows Morse Code?"

"I know for a fact he does."

"Good. Time to put our Appliance Repair Patches to good use. Though, I think this counts more as modification than repair…"

* * *

For a brief moment, Isabella thought she must be crazy. It was almost 9:30pm, and all traces of sunlight had vanished from the sky. She was sitting at her bedroom window, staring at the house across the street, at the light in the second floor window.

The light was Phineas's desk lamp, and she could just make out the outline of Phineas's head as he scribbled on the papers on his desk. She just watched him working, waiting for Adyson to return.

_Am I really this desperate? _she thought. _Even though this was Adyson's idea, am I really so desperate that I'm about to do this?_

She heard the front door open and close as Adyson finally came back.

_I guess so._

Her bedroom door opened and closed behind her and Adyson entered, carrying a small remote.

"What took you so long?" Isabella asked.

Adyson shrugged. "Turns out, I didn't remember how to use the timer. Took me a while just to figure it out again, let alone actually program it."

Isabella sighed. "The more I think about this plan, the more I think we're nuts to try this.

It was a relatively simple plan that took a lot of work to pull off. It started with lying to Mrs. Flynn.

After school that day, Phineas and Ferb went to Baljeet's house to help the Indian teen with a science experiment, the nature of which Isabella did not know. But the important part was that Phineas and Ferb would not be at home. So, Isabella and Adyson crossed Maple Drive and rang the Flynn-Fletcher's doorbell.

"Hi, girls," Mrs. Flynn greeted cheerfully. "If you're looking for Phineas and Ferb, they aren't here."

"We know. They're at Baljeet's. Phineas asked me if I could grab something out of his bedroom and bring it to him," Isabella lied.

"Well, come on in. You know where Phineas's room is, so go on ahead. I'll be in the kitchen if you need me."

"Thanks, Mrs. Flynn." Isabella was practically sweating bullets. She was never one to lie and wasn't sure if she'd been convincing. But, Mrs. Flynn had let them in, so she pushed it from her mind and hurried up the stairs, Adyson right behind her.

"Okay," Isabella said as they pushed open the door to Phineas's bedroom. "Let's do this fast and get out of here."

"Relax, Isabella. I doubt Mrs. Flynn is the suspicious type."

"How would you know? I've spent way more time here than you have."

Adyson pulled a small tool kit from her backpack. "Oh, shut up."

They spent the next 10 minutes attacking Phineas's desk lamp. They inserted a small relay that would make the light bulb turn off at the press of a button and a radio receiver that would allow them to control it from a distance.

After a quick test, they ran out of the house, yelling goodbye to Mrs. Flynn before she could see that they hadn't actually retrieved anything from Phineas's bedroom.

Adyson had then returned to her own home to program the remote. To avoid actually having to tap out the message, pushing the button once would run the whole message through on a loop until the button was pressed again.

They were going to send the message "Will you go to prom with me? Isabella" to Phineas in Morse Code through the desk lamp.

"I still want to know how you came up with this," Isabella said.

Adyson only shrugged in reply. "I have a lot of ideas. Sometimes it just takes a while to find a realistic application for them."

They both turned their attention to the window, gazing across the street at the glow coming from Phineas's bedroom.

"Are you sure this is gonna work?" Isabella asked.

"Of course. Guaranteed, or your money back," Adyson said sarcastically with a flourish of her uninjured hand. She handed the little remote to Isabella. "Here. You can do the honors since you're the one who wants to go out with him."

Isabella just stared at the little remote for a moment, thinking. She sighed. "Alright, here we go." With both of them staring across the street, Isabella tapped the button.

* * *

Phineas was just finishing his chemistry homework when his desk light clicked off. At first he thought the bulb had burnt out, but a second later it came back on. Then it blinked off again. On, off, on, off.

"What the heck?"

On, off, on, off, on, off, on... Then the lamp burst into flames.

"AH! My desk lamp's on fire!"

He quickly threw open the window, yanked the cord from the outlet, grabbed the lamp by the base (which was not on fire) and tossed it out onto the front lawn.

* * *

"Uh-oh!" Adyson exclaimed as the glow from Phineas's window began to flicker the way only fire can. A moment later, the blazing lamp sailed out the window and smashed to the ground.

The fire went out on its own a moment later, not having anything more to consume. Phineas briefly appeared outside and examined the remains.

Isabella reached over and smacked Adyson on the back of the head. "Ow!"

"Way to go, Adyson. You almost burned down Phineas's house."

She rubbed the back of her head. "Hey, you helped."

"Yeah, I hooked the radio receiver! The relay switch was all you, and that's the part that actually connected to the electricity."

Adyson looked sheepish. "Okay, maybe it was my fault."

They looked outside again. Phineas was carefully carrying the remains of his smoldering desk lamp to the garbage can on the curb.

"Time for Plan E?" Adyson asked.

Isabella sighed and turned away from the window. "No."

Adyson couldn't believe her ears. "No?"

Isabella flopped down onto her bed. "No. We failed four times. To me…that means it just wasn't meant to be."

**I think I can wrap this up in one more chapter. But I've been wrong before. Please review!**


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